Received 


FINE     WOOL 


SHEEP    HUSBANDRY 


BY  HENRY  S.  RANDALL,  LL.  D., 
i\ 

AUTHOR  OF  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY  OF    THE   SOUTH,  PRACTICAL  SHEPHERD,   ETC.,  ETC. 


KEAD  BEFORE    TUB 

NEW  YORK  STATE  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY, 

FEBRUARY     12th,     1862. 


WITH  AN  APPENDIX, 


CONTAINING 


VALUABLE  STATISTICS  IN  REFERENCE    TO  WOOL  CULTURE,  IMPORTS,  PRICES  OF 
FINE  WOOL  FROM  1840  TO  AUGUST  1ST,  1863,  ETC. 


NEW   YORK: 
ORANGE  JUDD  &  COMPANY, 

AGRICULTUKAL  BOOK  PUBLISHERS, 
245  BROADWAY. 


>  3  7  5 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1863, 
BY  C.  M.  SAXT01T, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  th« 
Southern  District  of  New  York. 


FINE  WOOL  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY. 


IN  rising  to  read  this  paper  on  the  sheep  of  our 
country,  prepared  at  the  request  of  your  President,  I 
cannot  fail  to  have  it  forcibly  recalled  to  my  memory 
that  twenty-five  years  ago  this  very  month,  at  the  an- 
nual meeting  of  the  Old  New  York  State  Agricultural 
Society,  in  this  city,  I  was  appointed  chairman  of  a 
committee  of  breeders  to  draw  up  a  report  on  the 
same  subject ;  and  that,  twenty-four  years  ago,  I  read 
that  report  before  the  Society. 

On  that  occasion  I  was  aided  by  the  far  riper  ex- 
perience of  some  of  the  most  eminent  breeders  of  our 
State,  and  might  therefore  without  presumption,  em- 
body their  knowledge  in  respect  to  breeds  with  which 
my  own  acquaintance  was  limited. 

Having  no  such  assistance  now,  I  shall  confine  my 
descriptions  chiefly  to  those  varieties  of  which  I 
can  speak  from  an  ample  personal  experience.  These 
include  the  Merinos  which,  at  various  periods,  have 
been  imported  from  Spain,  France,  and  Germany  into 
the  United  States. 

The  inquiries  of  your  President  embraced  the  fol- 
lowing topics :  The  origin  of  the  Merino ;  its  varie- 
ties ;  its  introduction  into  the  United  States ;  the  cir- 
cumstances which  have  affected  its  success  ;  the  com- 
parative profitableness  of  its  varieties ;  the  expediency 


4:  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

of  crossing  between  varieties  and  the  effects  of  in-and- 
in  breeding ;  the  proper  mode  of  selecting  a  nock ; 
the  art  of  breeding ;  the  present  course  of  breeding  in 
the  United  States ;  and  suggestions  as  to  the  future 
of  the  fine  wool  husbandry  in  our  country. 

The  Spanish  Merino. 

The  origin  of  this  animal  is  involved  in  obscurity. 
The  commonly  received  account  is,  that  Columella,  a 
Roman,  who  resided  near  Cadiz,  in  the  reign  of 
Claudius,  coupled  fine  wool  Tarentian  (Italian)  ewes 
with  wild  rams  brought  from  Barbary,  and  thus  laid 
the  foundation  of  the  breed;  that  some  thirteen  cen- 
turies after,  Pedro  IV.  of  Castile,  improved  it  by  a 
fresh  importation  of  rams  from  the  same  country  ;  and 
that  two  hundred  years  later  still,  Cardinal  Ximenes 
a  third  time  repeated  this  ameliorating  cross  ; — from 
which  period,  we  are  left  to  infer,  the  breed  became 
established  about  as  it  was  found  when  it  first  began 
to  attract  the  special  attention  of  foreign  nations  in 
the  seventeenth  century.  All  the  early  varieties  of 
Africa  had  long,  straight,  hairy  wool,  like  the  present 
long-wooled  sheep  of  England,  and  no  writer,  ancient 
or  modern,  has  pretended  that  the  rams  imported  from 
that  country  into  Spain,  were  any  different  in  this 
particular.  How  recurring  crosses  between  such  ani- 
mals and  fine-wooled  ewes  should  have  commenced, 
improved,  and  finally  fixed  the  characteristics  of  a 
breed  like  the  Merino,  is  a  problem  which  admits  of 
no  rational  solution  to  a  practical  sheep  breeder.* 

*  Strabo,  who  was  a,  contemporary  of  our  Saviour,  and  who  conse- 
quently lived  a  generation  earlier  than  Columella,  says  that  the  fine 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  5 

This  pedigree  is  probably  entitled  to  about  as  much 
confidence  as  that  which  the  Greek  poets  gave  to  the 
wonderful  ram  which  bore  the  "  Golden  Fleece."  He, 
according  to  this  very  respectable  authority,  wras  got 
by  the  sea-god  Neptune,  dam  the  nymph  Theophane. 

The  only  well  settled  facts  on  this  subject — and 
fortunately  they  are  quite  sufficient  for  all  practical 
purposes — are,  that  at  a  period  anterior  to  the  Chris- 
tian era,  fine-wooled  sheep  abounded  in  Spain ;  that 
they  were  preserved  and  made  themselves  heard  of  in 
the  channels  of  trade  and  the  domestic  arts  through 
all  the  conquests,  reconquests,  and  other  sanguinary 
convulsions  of  that  kingdom  ;  that  they  were,  or 
gradually  ripened  into,  an  exclusive  breed  unique  in 
its  characteristics,  and  essentially  unlike  all  other 
breeds  in  the  world. 

When  the  Merinos  of  Spain  first  attracted  the  ob- 
servation of  other  nations,  they  were  found  scattered 
over  most  portions  of  their  native  country,  divided 
into  provincial  varieties  which  exhibited  considerable 
differences ;  and  these  again  were  separated  into  great 
permanent  flocks  or  cabanas,  as  the  Spaniards  termed 
them,  which  had  so  long  been  ke^xt  distinct  from  each 
other  and  subjected  to  special  lines  of  breeding,  that 
they  had  acquired  the  character  of  sub-varieties  or 
families. 

cloths  worn  by  the  Eomans  in  his  time  were  manufactured  from 
wool  brought  from  Truditania,  in  Spain.  Pliny,  himself  G-overnor  of 
Spain,  writing  just  after  Columella's  time,  describes  several  fine- 
wooled  varieties  in  that  country,  which  must  have  existed  there  a 
long  time  anterior  to  Columella.  The  Barbary  crosses  undoubtedly 
were  made  with,  or  formed,  the  Chunah  or  long-wooled  breed  of  Spain, 
which  is  altogether  distinct  from  the  Merino. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 


Varieties  and  Sub-varieties  in  Spain. 

The  first  division  recognized  in  Spain  was  into 
Transhumantes  or  travelling  flocks,  and  Estantes  or 
stationary  flocks.  The  first  were  regarded  as  the 
most  valuable.  They  were  mostly  owned  by  the 
King,  and  some  of  the  principal  nobles  and  clergy, 
who,  at  an  early  period,  fastened  on  the  kingdom  a 
code  of  regulations  which  sacrificed  every  other  agri- 
cultural interest  for  the  convenience  of  the  proprie- 
tors of  these  sheep.* 

The  system  of  Spanish  sheep  husbandry  is  a  curious 
and  not  uninstructive  leaf  from  the  records  of  the 

*  These  will  be  found  described  in  detail  by  Lasteyrie,  Livingston, 
and  other  writers.  The  sheep  were  driven  from  the  southern  prov- 
inces in  April  or  May,  according  to  the  weather,  to  the  mountains  in 
the  north  of  Spain,  a  distance  bout  four  hundred  miles,  and  driven 
back  again  in  the  autumn,  generally  leaving  the  mountains  towards 
the  close  of  September  and  through  the  month  of  October.  The 
Tribunal  (Consejo  de  la  Mesta)  which  both  made  and  administered 
the  laws  which  regulated  their  transit,  was  composed  of  the  rich  and 
powerful  flock-masters.  The  following  remarks  are  from  Lasteyrie's 
most  valuable  Treatise  on  Merino  Sheep : 

"A  Spanish  writer,  Jorvellanes,  in  a  memoir  addressed  to  the 
King  of  Spain,  pays  'the  corps  of  Junadines  (proprietors  of  flocks) 
enjoy  an  enormous  power,  and  have,  by  the  force  of  sophisms  and 
intrigues,  not  only  engrossed  all  the  pastures  of  the  kingdom,  but 
have  made  the  cultivators  abandon  their  most  fertile  lands ;  thus  they 
have  banished  the  stationary  flocks,  ruined  agriculture,  and  depopu- 
lated the  country.'  It  is  easily  conceived  that  five  millions  of  sheep 
traversing  the  kingdom  in  almost  its  whole  extent,  for  whom  the 
cultivators  are  compelled  to  leave  a  road  through  their  vineyards 
and  best  cultivated  lands,  of  not  less  than  ninety  yards  wide,  and 
for  whom,  besides,  large  commons  must  be  left;  I  say,  it  is  easily 
conceived  that  such  a  flock  must  greatly  contribute  to  the  depopula- 
tion of  the  country,  and  that  the  revenue  that  the  King  draws 
by  the  duty  on  wool,  is  snatched  from  the  bread  of  his  people." 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  7 

past,  but  does  not  come  within  the  scope  of  this  paper. 
It  will  be  found  described  with  sufficient  fulness  by 
Mr.  Livingston,  whose  valuable  "  Essay  on  Sheep," 
now  recognized  authority  throughout  the  world,  was 
laid  before  the  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society 
in  1809."* 

Livingston  makes  the  following  territorial  classifica- 
tion of  the  Merinos  in  Spain  at  the  opening  of  the 
present  century  :  "  Castile  and  Leon  has  the  largest 
with  the  finest  coats.  Those  of  Soria  are  small,  with 
very  fine  wool.  Those  of  Valencia,  which,  like  the 
last,  do  not  travel,  have  fine  wool,  but  a  very  short 
staple." 

The  Leonese  Transhumantes,  considered  the  best 
sheep  of  Spain,  were  the  only  ones  which,  ever  at- 
tracted much  foreign  notice,  and  they  composed  the 
principal  importations  into  the  United  States.  Some 
of  the  most  esteemed  families  of  them  were  thus 
briefly  characterized,  by  Lasteyrie,  one  of  the  best 
informedf  and  most  reliable  writers,  early  or  late,  in 
respect  to  the  Merino  : 

*  I  have  thus  termed  the  Society,  because  it  will  convey  a  more 
correct  impression  to  many  readers  of  the  present  day,  than  to  give 
it  its  actual  designation,  which  was,  "  The  Society  for  the  Promotion 
of  Useful  Arts."  It  was  the  lineal  ancestor  of  our  present  organi- 
zation. 

Robert  R.  Livingston,  LL.  D.,  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  under 
the  American  Articles  of  Confederation,  Chancellor  of  New  York, 
&c.,  &c.,  went  as  American  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  France  in  1801. 
He  there  gave  much  attention  to  the  Merinos  preparatory  to  an  im- 
portation of  them.  He  is  an  able,  and  in  matters  of  fact,  extremely 
reliable,  writer.  He  was  one  of  the  most  spirited  and  influential 
agricultural  improvers  in  our  country,  and  is  never  to  be  forgotten  as 
the  patron  and  coadjutor  of  Fulton. 

f  Lasteyrie  travelled  into  every  country  in  Europe,  where  the 


8  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

"The  Escurial  breed  is  supposed  to  possess  the 
finest  wool  of  all  the  migratory  sheep.  The  Gaude- 
loupe  have  the  most  perfect  form,  and  are  likewise 
celebrated  for  the  quantity  and  quality  of  their  wool. 
The  Paulars  bear  much  wool  of  a  fine  quality ;  but 
they  have  a  more  evident  enlargement  behind  the 
ears,  and  a  greater  degree  of  throatiness,  and  their 
lambs  have  a  coarse,  hairy  appearance,  which  is  suc- 
ceeded by  excellent  wool.  The  lambs  of  the  Infanta- 
dos  have  the  same  hairy  coat  when  young.  The  ~Ne- 
gretti  are  the  largest  and  strongest  of  all  the  Spanish 
travelling  sheep.  * 

The  Merinos,  as  they  appeared  as  a  race  at  the 
opening  of  this  century,  are  thus  described  by  Living- 
ston: 

Merinos  had  been  introduced,  to  ascertain  how  the  experiment  suc- 
ceeded and  to  observe  the  effect  of  the  different  climates  and  systems 
of  management  on  the  animal. 

*  Livingston's  descriptions  coincide  with  these,  except  that  he  says 
that  the  Paulars  have  "similar  fleeces"  with  the  Q-audeloupes,  and 
are  "  longer  bodied." 

These  celebrated  flocks  were  the  property  of  individuals  or  of  re  - 
ligious  orders.  The  Escurial  flock  belonged  to  the  King,  until 
Philip  II.  gave  it  to  the  friars  of  a  convent  attached  to  the  Escurial 
palace.  The  Paulars  were  purchased  by  the  Prince  of  Peace  of  the 
Carthusian  friars  of  Paular.  The  Negrettis  were  owned  by  the 
Conde  Campo  de  Alange — the  Infantados,  Aqueirres,  Montarcos,  etc., 
to  the  nobles  of  those  names. 

Hon.  William  Jarvis,  of  Vermont,  hereafter  mentioned  as  a  con- 
spicuous importer  of  Merino  sheep  into  the  United  States,  in  a  letter 
to  L.  D.  Gregory,  which  was  republished  in  Morell's  American  Shep- 
herd (pp.  71-76),  describes  the  Spanish  cabanas  somewhat  different- 
ly. But  his  opportunities  for  judging,  good  as  they  were,  were  not 
equal  to  those  of  Lasteyrie,  and  Mr.  Jarvis  wrote  some  years  after 
he  had  seen  any  pure  bred  animals  of  the  separate  cabanas.  Las- 
teyrie's  description  is  adopted  by  some  eminent  writers,  familiar  with 
the  Spanish  sheep  near  the  opening  of  this  century,  and  I  do  not  re- 
member to  have  seen  it  contradicted  by  any  European  author  of  re- 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  9 

"The  race  varies  greatly  in  size  and  beauty  in 
different  parts  of  Spain.  It  is  commonly  rather 
smaller  than  the  middle-sized  sheep  of  America.  The 
body  is  compact,  the  legs  short,  the  head  long,  the 
forehead  arched.  The  ram  generally  (but  not  inva- 
riably) carries  very  large  spiral  horns,  has  a  fine  eyo 
and  a  bold  step.  The  ewes  have  generally  no  horns. 
The  wool  of  these  sheep  is  so  much  finer  and  softer 
than  the  common  wool,  as  to  bear  no  sort  of  com- 
parison with  it ;  it  is  twisted  and  drawn  together  like 
a  cork-screw ;  its  length  is  generally  about  three 
inches,  but  when  drawn  out  it  will  stretch  to  nearly 
double  that  length.  Though  the  wool  is,  when 
cleaned,  extremely  white,  yet  on  the  sheep  it  appears 
a  yellowish  or  dirty  brown  color,  owing  to  the  close- 
ness of  the  coat,  and  the  condensation  of  the  perspi- 
ration on  the  extremities  of  the  fleece.  The  wool  com- 
monly covers  great  part  of  the  head,  and  descends  to 
the  hoof  of  the  hind  feet,  particularly  in  young  sheep ; 
and  it  is  also  much  more  greasy  than  the  wool  of 
other  sheep." 

To  supply  data  which  will  enable  any  one  curious 
on  the  subject  to  make  some  practical  comparisons 
between  these  sheep  and  their  descendants  in  the 
United  States,  I  select  the  following,  from  a  more 
extensive  table  by  Petri,  who  visited  Spain  in  the 
early  part  of  this  century,  for  the  express  purpose  of 
examining  its  sheep  :  and  I  add  similar  admeasure- 
ments of  American  Merinos : 

putation.  Like  all  the  descriptions  of  animals  by  writers  of  that  day, 
it  is,  however,  exceedingly  meagre  and  vague.  But  I  do  not  think 
the  writers  of  that  day  considered  the  distinctions  between  a  few  of 
the  best  cabanas  as  of  much  importance — regarding  them  as  about 
equal  in  value. 
1* 


10 


FINE   WQOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 


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NAMES  OF  FLOCKS. 

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ft.  in. 

ft.  in. 

ft.  in. 

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ft.  in. 

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In. 

Earn    

97 

1    7 

2    2 

4    6* 

4    H 

1    3 

10 

Ewe    

67 

RJ 

1    5 

2    1 

4    2i 

4    14, 

1    1 

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44 

INFANTADO. 

Earn    

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10 

1    6 

2    3 

4    7 

4    2 

1    0 

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Ewe    

70 

q 

1    54. 

2    1 

4    34. 

3  11 

1    0 

s* 

GUADELOUPE. 

Earn 

974- 

q 

1    6 

2    2 

4    5 

4    54 

1    0 

s 

^ 

Ewe    

69 

q 

1    2 

2    1 

3  11 

3    9 

4 

ESTANTES  OF  SIERKA  DE 

SOMO. 

Earn   

964; 

At 

1    6 

2    0 

4    3* 

4    24. 

1    0 

R 

6 

Ewe    

62i 

q 

1    2 

2    1 

4    0 

3  10 

11 

7 

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SMAX.L,  ESTANTES. 

Earn 

42 

74 

1    3 

1    9 

3    7* 

3    2 

10 

R 

Ewe    

30 

7 

1    1 

1     6 

3    2 

2  10 

8 

6 

AMERICAN  MERINO. 

Earn 

122 

q 

10 

2    4 

3  11 

4      44; 

11 

q 

q 

Ewe 

114 

10 

2    4 

3  1H 

4       14; 

11 

q 

R 

Ewe    

122 

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10 

2    5 

4    0 

4    8 

9 

9 

R 

Ewe    

100 

9 

11 

2    3 

3  11 

4       J 

8} 

8 

8 

These  weights  and  measures,  except  those  of  the 
American  sheep,*  are  Austrian.  The  Austrian  pound 

*  The  American  Merino  ewes  were  taken  from  one  of  my  flocks, 
composed  of  sheep  of  good  medium  size,  and  I  think  they  were  a 
little  heavier  than  the  average  of  the  flock.  They  were  weighed,  &c., 
in  December,  1861,  and  had  been  sheared  only  five  months — so  that 
their  weights  did  not,  like  the  Spanish,  include  full  fleeces.  They 
were  in  good  ordinary  condition,  and  no  more.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  ram.  He  is  a  small,  short  animal  for  one  of  his  family,  but  has 
great  substance,  and  is  specially  prized  for  the  uniformity  of  his  off- 
spring, for  their  low,  broad,  beautiful  forms,  and  for  the  great  length 
and  thickness  of  their  wool.  His  own  fleece  has  reached  to  about  21 
Ibs.  In  other  respects  there  was  nothing  unusual  iu  the  appearance 
or  form  of  any  of  the  four;  and  their  shape,  &c.,  would  about  cor- 
respond with  that  of  the  flock  they  were  taken  from,  or  that  pro- 
bably of  any  other  prime  full  blood  flock  in  the  country.  The  ram 
was  25  inches  high  on  the  shoulder,  the  ewes  about  23  inches  each. 
I  wish  Petri  had  given  the  heights  of  the  Spanish  sheep.  When  the 
diflerence  in  weight  is  taken  into  account,  it  is  remarkable  that  there 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  11 

is  equal  to  1.037  Ibs.  avoirdupois ;  the  Austrian  foot 
to  1.234  English  feet. 

Mr.  Livingston,  in  describing  the  Spanish  Merino 
of  his  day,  as  compact  and  short-legged,  took  for  his 
standard  of  comparison,  doubtless,  the  gaunt,  tall 
sheep  of  America ;  and  Colonel  Humphreys's  descrip- 
tion, sent  to  the  Massachusetts  Society  for  promoting 
Agriculture,  requires  the  same  explanation.  Most 
British  writers,  with  their  eyes  on  their  own  mutton- 
breeds,  fall  into  the  opposite  extreme.  Petri's  niQas- 
urements  show  that  the  Spanish  sheep  were  far  less 
compact  than  their  American  descendants,  though 
they  ran  to  no  extraordinary  excess  in  the  opposite 
direction. 

We  should  gather  the  impression  from  Livingston's 
remarks — and  Humphreys  expressly  says — that  they 
were  broad-chested.*  Compared  with  other  sheep, 
or  their  own  descendants  of  the  present  day,  this  was 
quite  otherwise.  The  concurrent  testimony  of  both 
writers  and  observers,  who  had  more  practical 
acquaintance  with  the  points  of  an  animal's  carcass 
than  either  of  the  above  distinguished  gentlemen,  as 
well  as  my  own  observations  thirty  years  ago,  when 

Should  be  no  greater  difference  in  the  "circumference  of  .the  belly" 
between  the  Spanish  and  American  sheep  in  the  table;  and  one 
would  infer  that  a  good  portion  of  the  weight  of  the  former  must  be 
made  up  of  a  belly  so  disproportioned  in  size.  But  I  have  no  doubt 
that  Petri  measured  their  circumference  in  full  fleece,  and  without  any 
compression  of  the  wool.  I  shall  reserve  any  further  comparisons 
until  I  describe  the  improved  American  Merino. 

*  "  The  neck  short,  the  chest  broad.  The  members  more  compact 
and  thick  than  those  of  our  former  breed  of  sheep ;  and  the  carcass  is 
thought  to  have  smaller  bones,  and  to  be  more  rounded  in  the  hinder 
part." — Colonel  Humphreys's  Letter  to  Massachusetts  Society  for  Pro- 
moting Agriculture. 


12  FINE    WOOL   SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

our  own  Merinos  had  been  bred  closely  to  the  original 
model,  show  that  the  Merino  of  Spain  was  decidedly 
a  narrow-chested  animal.*  But  what  he  thus  lost  in 
symmetry,  was  made  up,  so  far  as  room  for  the  lung? 
and  other  viscera  was  concerned,  by  his  great  depth 
of  carcass.  In  these  respects  he  was  to  the  English 
mutton  breeds  what  the  Spanish  barb  was  to  the 
thick-winded  English  dray  horse  ;'  and  he  exhibited  a 
corresponding  superiority  in  locomotion  and  energy,  f 
Ifr.  Livingston  unquestionably  wrote  from  a  vague 
recollection,  or  at  least  without  making  actual  admea- 
surements, when  he  stated  the  length  of  the  un- 
stretched  Spanish  wool  at  three  inches.  The  Spanish 
breeders  intentionally  kept  the  staple  short  enough  to 
meet  the  demands  of  the  broadcloth  manufacturers  of 
that  day,  and  two  inches,  unstretched,  would  have 
been  regarded  as  a  long  staple  then,  and  is  so  still. 
All  old  Merino  breeders  concur  in  the  statement  that 
the  Spanish  wool  has  increased  in  length  in  this  coun- 
try, yet  it  may  be  doubted  whether  a  thorough  bred 
sheep  of  this  variety  can  be  found  in  the  United 
States,  the  wool  of  which,  at  one  year's  growth,  aver- 

*  And  it  appears  to  me  that  the  same  fact  is  deducible  from  Petri's 
table.  With  the  length,  and  belly  circumference  which  he  gives  to 
them,  they  would  far  exceed  the  weights  he  gives,  if  they  were  as 
broad-chested  as  their  descendants. 

f  The  Merino  would  travel  almost  twice  as  fast,  and  more  than  four 
times  as  long  as  a  mutton  sheep,  particularly  in  hot  weather.  Think 
of  a  great  drove  of  ewes  and  lambs,  of  any  of  the  mutton  varieties, 
sweeping  along  eight  or  ten  miles  a  day,  for  400  miles  twice  each  year, 
and  kept  on  the  most  meagre  pasturage  during  every  trip  I  The 
Spanish  ram  would  readily  vanquish  in  battle,  an  English  ram  of 
twice  his  size.  In  "  bottom,"  "pluck,"  and  hardiness,  there  is  no  com- 
parison between  the  breeds. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  13 

ages  three  inches  over  the  carcass.  I  never  yet  saw 
or  heard  of  one. 

The  fleece  of  the  Spanish  Merino  was  exceedingly 
dense,  level  on  the  surface,  uniform  as  between  ani- 
mals of  the  same  family,  and  even  in  quality  in  the 
individual.  The  sheep  of  the  Escurial  cabana  were 
destitute  of  external  "gum"  (indurated  yolk),  and 
therefore  quite  light  colored.  Most  of  the  celebrated 
flocks,  however,  had  more  of  it,  and  were  more  or  less 
dark — some  as  dark  as  the  unhoused  Merinos  of  the 
present  day.  The  wool  was  free  from  indurated  yolk 
within,  and  it  opened  with  a  fine  lustre  and  the  other 
general  characteristics  which  still  distinguish  the 
breed. 

Gilbert,  a  French  writer  of  great  reputation,  stated 
in  a  report  to  the  National  Institute  of  France,  in 
1796,  that  "  all  the  wool  of  Spain  he  had  examined, 
not  excepting  the  prime  Leonese,  the  most  esteemed 
of  any,  appeared  to  contain  much  more  jar  than  that 
of  Rambouillet."  This  would  imply  that  the  best 
wools  of  Spain  exhibited  this  defect,*  but  Gilbert 
says  "  they  pretend  the  best  of  the  Spanish  wool  is 
not  imported  into  France." 

The  weight  of  the  Spanish  fleeces  was  placed  by 
Livingston  at  eight  and  a  half  Ibs.  in  the  ram,  and  five 
Ibs.  in  the  ewe,  which  he  stated  lost  half  in  washing. 
Youatt  gives  the  average  weight  of  the  ram's  fleece 


*  There  lias  been  some  confusion  as  to  the  use  of  the  term  "jar"  in 
our  country.  I  think  the  foreign  writers  do  not  mean  by  it  that 
firmly  rooted  hair  which  projects  from  the  wool  on  the  thighs,  necks, 
&c.,  of  some  sheep,  but  that  sharp-pointed,  shining  hair  which  is  found 
detached  from  the  skin  within  the  fleece,  and  usually  much  shorter  than 
the  wool.  It  becomes  detached  when  the  wool  has  partly  grown. 


14:  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

at  half  a  pound  less,  but  of  the  ewe's  the  same.  The 
Spanish  system  of  washing  alluded  to,  was  much  more 
perfect  than  our  own.  Brook-washed,  on  the  back, 
in  the  American  way,  the  shrinkage  would  not  have 
exceeded  one-third.* 

These  are  but  general  averages,  and  do  not  indicate 
the  weight  of  fleeces  of  prime  animals.  The  King  of 
England's  nock  of  ]N~egretti's,  about  one  hundred  in 
number,  yielded  during  five  years  (1798-1802)  an 
annual  average  of  3^f  f  pounds  of  brook-washed  wool, 
and  2  ^|^  pounds  of  wool  scoured  for  manufacturing.f 

Some  of 'the  Spanish  sheep  first  imported  into  the 
United  States  yielded  still  more  wool,  if  well-preserved 
tradition  can  be  credited ;  but  I  have  not  been  able 
to  find  any  precise  records  of  weighing,  except  in  re- 

*  If  I  have  not  made  this  distinction,  in  previously  published  papers 
on  this  subject,  it  was  because  I  entirely  overlooked  the  fact.  The 
Spanish  wools,  after  being  shorn,  are  beaten  on  hurdles  to  remove 
loose  dirt,  then  placed  in  a  vat  of  hot  water  and  stirred  about  five  or 
six  minutes,  then  put  into  the  head  of  a  trough  or  aqueduct  of  cold 
running  water,  and  trampled  on  and  rubbed  by  men's  feet  as  they 
pass  slowly  through.  They  are  next  drained  on  an  inclined  plane 
and  spread  on  the  grass  to  dry.  But  four  to  seven  per  cent,  of  yolk 
is  left  in  them.  One-third  'of  gross  weight  is  the  usual  amount  of  de- 
duction on  our  American  unwashed  wools,  to  put  them  on  a  par  with 
our  brook-washed  wools. 

•{•  The  flock  included  a  very  small  number  of  wethers  (the  number  is 
not  given)  and  no"  ranis.  To  exhibit  the  sorting  of  the  Spanish  wools 
of  that  day,  by  the  English  mode,  I  subjoin  the  following  table  : 


1798.. 

1799. 

1800.. 

1801.. 

1802.. 

I  have  drawn  these  facts  from  Sir  Joseph  Banks' s  five  annual  re- 
ports in  relation  to  His  Majesty's  flock. 


No.  of 
sheep. 
.  89 
.  101 
.  100 
.  106 
.  96 

Lbs.  of  wool 
washed  on 
sheep's  back. 
295 
346 
398 
397 
352 

Lbs.  of 
scoured 
wool. 
203 
254 
294 
285 
256 

Lbs.  of 
"  prime" 
wool. 
167 
207 
234 
237 
221 

Lbs.  of 
"  choice" 
wool. 
23 
28 
34 
31 
32 

Lbs.  of 
"  fribbs.'1 
13 
19 
26 
17 
3 

FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDED.  15 

lation  to  a  dozen  or  two  of  them.  Our  early  writers 
on  such  topics  appear  to  have  eschewed  .nothing  so 
much  as  exact  and  definite  facts. 

Youatt  ascertained,  by  actual  admeasurement,  that 
the  fibres  of  a  specimen  of  picklock  (the  best)  wool 
from  a  JSTegretti  fleece,  had  the  diameter  of  T£o-  part 
of  an  inch.  Another  "  fair  sample"  which  he  thought 
was  probably  fina,  or  ISTo.  2,  and  a  third  one  taken 
from  Lord  "Western's  Merinos,  in  England,  gave  the 
same  admeasurement.  This  may  probably  be  assumed 
as  the  average  fineness  of  the  good  Merino  wool  of 
that  day. 

Having  attempted  to  show  the  principal  character- 
istics of  this  celebrated  breed  of  sheep  at  the  period  of 
its  highest  development  in  its  native  country,  com- 
ments and  comparisons  will  be  reserved  until  its 
French  and  German  offshoots — also  introduced  into 
the  United  States — are  first  examined. 

The  French  Merino. 

Colbert,  the  eminent  French  statesman,  was  the  first, 
so  far  as  I  have  ascertained,  who  attempted  the  trans- 
plantation of  the  Spanish  Merino  into  other  lands. 
Eor  have  I  learned  the  date  of  .that  attempt.  Colbert 
was  born  in  1619,  and  died  in  1683.  Occupied  in  in- 
cessant and  harassing  cares,  he  could  give  no  personal 
attention  to  his  experiment,  and  it  is  to  be  presumed 
the  sheep  encountered  among  his  dependents  that  ob- 
stinate antipathy  which  subsequently  met  them  among 
the  ignorant  in  every  other  country  outside  of  Spain. 
As  would  be  expected  under  such  circumstances,  they 
attracted  no  notice,  and  soon  disappeared.  A  subse- 


16  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

quent  importation  of  Merinos  by  M.  de  Perce,  result- 
ed so  favorably  as  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  govern- 
ment, which  instituted  a  series  of  experiments  on  the 
subject,  under  the  direction  of  the  celebrated  Dauben- 
ton.  These  proved  satisfactory,  and  Louis  XYIII.  of 
France  applied  to  the  King  of  Spain  for  permission  to 
export  a  nock.  The  latter  not  only  granted  the  re- 
quest, but  ordered  "  that  they  should  be  selected  from 
the  finest  flocks  of  Spain."  A  little  over  three  hun- 
dred of  them  arrived  safely  in  France  in  1786,  and 
were  placed  in  an  agricultural  establishment,  devoted 
to  the  improvement  of  domestic  animals,  at  Rambouil- 
let,  about  forty  miles  from  Paris. 

Gilbert,  in  his  already  cited  report  to  the  National 
Institute  of  France,  in  1796,  thus  describes  them,  and 
the  course  of  breeding  to  which  they  were  subjected: 

"  The  stock  from  which  the  flock  of  Rambouillet 
was  derived,  was  composed  of  individuals  beautiful 
beyond  any  that  had  ever  before  been  brought  from 
Spain  ;  but  having  been  chosen  from  a  great  number 
of  flocks,  in  different  parts  of  the  kingdom,  they  were 
distinguished  by  very  striking  local  differences,  which 
formed  a  medley  disagreeable  to  the  eye,  but  immate- 
rial as  it  affected  their  quality.  These  characteristic 
differences  have  melted  into  each  other,  by  their  suc- 
cessive alliances,  and  from  thence  has  resulted  a  race 
which  perhaps  resembles  none  of  those  which  com- 
posed the  primitive  stock,  but  which  certainly  does 
not  yield  in  any  circumstance  to  the  most  beautiful 
in  point  of  size,  form,  and  strength,  or  in  the  fineness, 
length,  softness,  strength,  and  abundance  of  fleece. 
*  *  The  comparison  I  have  made  with  the  most 
scrupulous  attention,  between  this  wool  and  the  high- 
est priced  of  that  drawn  from  Spain,  authorizes  me  to 
declare  that  of  liambouillet  superior." 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  17 

Judging  by  the  taste  uniformly  displayed  by  the 
French  in  that  particular,  there  is  little  doubt  that 
"  abundance  of  fleece"  was  the  first  rather  than  the 
last  consideration — as  it  here  happens  to  be  named — 
which  guided  the  original  selection.  And  the  far 
more  liberal  feed  which  the  sheep  received  in  France, 
their  exemption  from  the  exhausting  annual  migra- 
tions of  Spain,  and  a  course  of  breeding  specially  de- 
signed to  produce  that  result,  rapidly  carried  the 
weight  of  their  fleeces  beyond  any  point  ever  known 
in  their  native  country. 

Ten  years  after  their  introduction  into  France,  Las- 
teyrie  gives  their  average  weight  of  fleeces,  unwashed, 
and  thus  continues  it  through  a  series  of  years :  in 
1796,  6  Ibs.  9  oz. ;  1797,  8  Ibs. ;  1798,  7  Ibs. ;  1799,  8 
Ibs. ;  1800,  8  Ibs. :  1801,  9  Ibs.  1  oz. 

While  all  practical  wool-growers  know  that  some 
seasons  produce  lighter  fleeces  than  others — without 
reference  to  the  apparent  condition  of  the  sheep,  or  to 
the  weather,  or  any  other  circumstance  known  to  influ- 
ence the  growth  of  wool,  the  disparity  here  exhibited 
between  1796,  and  the  succeeding  years,  cannot  be  thus 
explained,  and  it  would  be  preposterous  to  imagine 
that  the  course  of  improvement  had  advanced  thus 
abruptly  within  so  limited  a  period. 

Gilbert,  writing  under  government  patronage,  said, 
in  1796 : 

"  Almost  all  the  fleeces  of  the  rams  of  two  years 
old,  and  upwards,  weigh  from  twelve  to  thirteen 
pounds,  but  the  mean  weight,  taking  rams  and  ewes 
together,  has  not  quite  attained  to  eight  pounds,  after 
deducting  the  tags  and  the  wool  from  the  belly,  which 
are  sold  separately."  This  is  probably  the  correct 


18  FINE   WOOL   SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

statement,*  for  Livingston,  so  familiar  with  the  Eam- 
bouillet  flock,  accepts  it  as  such,  and  subjoins  the  fol- 
lowing remarks:  "It  is  proper  to  observe  that  the 
French  pound  is  almost  one-twelfth  heavier  than  the 
English  ;  bnt,  at  the  same  time,  to  note  that  from  the 
general  custom  of  folding  the  sheep  in  France,  of  feed- 
ing them  in  fallows,  and  wintering  them  in  houses, 
they  are  very  dirty,  f  and  their  fleeces,  of  course,  pro- 
portionablv  heavier ;  the  loss  in  washing  is  about  sixty 
per  cent.,  so  that  the  average  weight  of  the  ram's 
fleece  would  be,  when  washed  and  scoured,  about  six 
American  pounds,  exclusive  of  tags  and  belly  wool." 

"  Scouring,"  even  as  Mr.  Livingston  uses  the  word,^: 
is  a  very  different  process  from  brook-washing ;  and 
the  belly  wool,  and  clean  tags,  which  are  done  up 
with  the  fleece  in  this  country,  would,  I  think,  equal 
the  weight  acquired  from  additional  yolkiness  and 
dirtiness;  so  I  infer  that  to  place  these  unwashed 
French  fleeces  on  an  equality,  in  respect  to  cleanli- 

*  The  supposed  statement  of  Lasteyrie.  under  examination,  may  1» 
a  misprint  Having  suffered  my  wool  library  to  become  scattered.  I 
cannot  verify  the  accuracy  of  the  quotation  from  the  original.  I  copy 
it  from  my  ';  Sheep  Husbandry  in  the  South,"  and  on  turning  to 
Youatt,  I  find  he  gives  the  same  figures. 

I  wilt  in  this  connection,  add  that,  for  the  reason  already  given.  I 
shall  generally,  in  this  paper,  be  under  the  necessity  of  re-quoting  for- 
eign authors  from  the  work  of  mine  alluded  to.  It  is  possible  that 
occasional  misprints  have  crept  into  succeeding  editions  of  that  work. 

f  A  sheep,  housed  nights,  and  from  storms,  retains  an  additional 
amount  of  the  soluble  yolk  in  its  fleece,  which  would  far  outweigh  the 
mere  "dirt"  which  adheres  to  the  fleece. 

$  I  do  not  apprehend  that  Mr.  Livingston  here  refers  to  a  process 
as  thorough  as  that  now  employed  by  manufacturers  in  cleansing 
wool:  but,  judging  from  his  remarks  on  other  occasions.  I  infer  that 
he  meant  something  about  equivalent  to  the  Spanish  mode  of  washing, 
Inscribed  in  a  previous  note. 


FINE   WOOL   SHEEP   HC5BAXDKY.  19 

ness,  with  American  brook-washed  Merino  fleeces, 
we  should  not  deduct  more  than  one-third  of  the  given 
gross  weight.  There  is  something  exceedingly  un- 
satisfactory in  statistics  which  are  so  vague  as  not  to 
mention  the  respective  number  of  rams  and  ewes,  the 
fleeces  of  which  go  to  make  up  a  mean-weight — when 
all  know  the  produce  of  the  former  is  nearly  double 
that  of  the  latter.*  But  here  we  have  something  more 
definite,  and  it  shows  another  decided  stride  upwards 
in  the  Hambouillet  sheep.  Lasteyrie,  in  his  report  to 
the  National  Institute  in  1802,  states  "  that  the  me- 
dium weight  of  fleece  of  full  grown  nursing  ewes  was 
8  Ibs.  7  oz. ;  of  the  ewes  of  three  years  old,  which  had 
no  lambs,  9  Ibs.  13  oz. ;  and  two-tenths  [grade]  ewes 
10  Ibs.  8  oz."f  By  the  rule  of  estimating  above 
adopted,  the  Rambouillet  grown  ewes,  sixteen  years 
after  the  foundation  of  the  flock,  produced,  on  an 
average,  not  far  from  six  pounds  of  wool,  washed  in 
the  American  way. 

It  is  true  that  Mr.  Livingston's  own  sheep,  im- 
ported from  France  in  1802,  bore  less  wooL*  but  it  is 
evident  that  he  made  fineness,  instead  of  quantity  of 
wool,  the  leading  consideration  in  their  selection. 

*  As  already  said,  not  having  Lasteyrie's  works  to  refer  to,  I  am 
not  certain  that  he  does  not  supply  this  omission;  but  I  think  not  or, 

1  should  have  quoted  his  statements  on  former  occasions, 
f  Quoted  hy  Livingston. 

j  Yia^  hi  1807,  three  ewes,  having  lambs,  bore  11  Ibs.  12  oz-,  or 
nearly  4  Ibs.  each,  of  unwashed  wooL  In  1808,  "  he  did  not  keep  a 
separate  account,  but  as  they  were  in  better  order  he  thought  the 
average  was  near  5  Ibs."  In  1809,  seven  ewes  bore  36  lbs_  or  5  Ibs. 

2  oz.  per  head.     The  same  year,  his  three  rams  bore,  respectively, 
12  Ibs.  14  ot,  9  Ibs. ;  and  a  ram  fourteen  months  old,  of  ~  uncommon 
size"  (imported  from  France  in  1808),  bore  9   Ibs.  6  os^  afl  un- 
washed. 


20  FINE    WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

There  is  nothing  incredible  in  these  stated  results 
of  this  most  successful  French  experiment.  The  gain 
in  wool  is  no  greater,  in  proportion,  than  we  witnessed 
in  the  American  Merino  in  the  sixteen  years  which 
succeeded  1840. 

Leaping  over  a  chasm  of  twenty-five  years,  let  us 
again  examine  the  Rambouillet  sheep,  and  ascertain 
the  progress  of  this  most  interesting  experiment 
through  the  eyes  of  an  English  breeder  of  Merinos. 
Mr.  Trimmer,  the  author  of  the  "  Practical  Observa- 
tions," visited  this  flock  in  1827,  and  the  following  is 
his  often  quoted  description  of  it : 

"  The  sheep,  in  size,  are  certainly  the  largest  pure 
Merinos  I.  have  ever  seen.  The  wool  is  of  various 
qualities,  many  sheep  carrying  very  fine  fleeces,  others 
middling,  and  some  rather  indifferent ;  but  the  whole 
is  much  improved  from  the  quality  of  the  original 
Spanish  Merinos.  In  carcass  and  appearance  I  hesi- 
tate not  to  say  they  are  the  most  unsightly  flock  of 
the  kind  I  ever  met  with.  The  Spaniards  entertained 
an  opinion  that  a  looseness  of  skin  under  the  throat, 
and  other  parts,  contributed  to  the  increase  of  fleece. 
This  system  the  French  have  so  much  .enlarged  on 
that  they  have  produced,  in  this  flock,  individuals 
with  dewlaps  almost  down  to  the  knees,  and  folds  of 
skin  on  the  neck,  like  frills,  covering  nearly  the  head. 
Several  of  these  animals  seem  to  possess  pelts  of  such 
looseness  of  size  that  one  skin  would  nearly  hold  the 
carcasses  of  two  such  sheep.  The  pelts  are  particu- 
larly thick,  which  is  unusual  in  the  Merino  sheep. 
The  rams'  fleeces  were  stated  at  14  Ibs.,  and  the  ewes' 
10  Ibs.,  in  the  grease.  By  washing  they  would  be  re- 
duced half,  thus  giving  7  and  5  Ibs.  each." 

Washed,  in  the  American  way,  these  rams'  fleeces 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  21 

would  have  yielded  an  average  of  about  9£  ibs.,  and 
the  ewes'  fleeces,  about  6^  Ibs. 

Trimmer  described  only  the  Koyal  flock.  It  ap- 
pears that  it  was  already  beginning  to  be  outstripped, 
in  weight  of  fleece  and  size  of  carcass,  by  private 
ones.  On  this  subject  I  prefer  to  quote  the  language 
of  John  A.  Taintor,  Esq.,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
by  far  the  most  extensive  importer  of  French  sheep 
into  the  United  States,  and  a  gentleman  long  fami- 
liar with  all  the  National  varieties  of  the  Merino. 
It  will  add  to  the  interest  of  his  remarks  on  this 
subject  to  give  his  reasons  for  preferring  the  French, 
and  his  criticisms  on  other  varieties.  I  should  say, 
in  justice  to  Mr.  Taintor,  that  his  letter  to  me,  from 
which  I  quote,  was  written  in  haste,  on  the  eve  of 
a  journey,  and'  with  no  expectation  that  I  would 
adopt  its  phraseology  in  making  use  of  its  facts. 
But  its  terse  and  careless  ofi-handedness  does  not  de- 
tract from  its  value.  He  writes  (dated  January 
2d,  1862 :) 

"  In  1828  I  imported  a  lot  of  Saxony  sheep,  and,  at 
various  times,  have  selected,  in  France,  nearly  one 
thousand  of  their  best  Merinos.  In  1842  my  friend, 
D.  C.  Collins,  of  this  city  (Hartford),  bought,  by  my 
advice,  fourteen  ewes  and  two  rams  of  the  Koyal  flock 
at  Eambouillet.  About  half  of  them  were  good  sheep, 
but  for  want  of  care  and  attention  the  importation 
was  of  but  little  value  to  the  owner  or  the  country. 
"  I  cannot  afford  to  keep  any  other 
sheep  (for  wool)  but  French  Merinos.  I  call  them 
best  because  they  pay  best,  and  that  is  the  true  test. 
Not  the  sheep  that  can  crawl  through  the  year  with 
the  least  possible  care  and  feed,  but  one  generously 
fed  and  cared  for,  and  bred  with  close  attention  and 
judgment,  with  always  an  eye  for  the  most  valuable 


22  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

fleece  for  the  manufacturer,  and  the  most  valuable 
carcass  for  the  butcher. 

"  Since  1828  I  have  been  seven  times  across  the 
water,  and  at  one  time -took  a  year  and  a  half  to  visit 
every  part  of  Europe,  and  examine  the  flocks  and  see 
the  owners,  hear  all  they  had  to  say,  and  then  use  my 
own  judgment.  You  are  aware  that  the  Spanish  Me- 
rinos have  become  almost  lost.  They  are  so  small, 
neglected,  and  miserable,  that  I  would  not  take  one  of 
them  even  as  a  present. 

"  Improved  machinery,  too,  has  had  a  ruinous  effect 
on  the  Saxony  flocks,  as  they  have  learned  the  art  oi 
using  medium  wool  in  the  place  of  very  fine.  The 
sheep  of  Saxony,  proper,  are  more  than  half  a  million 
less  in  number  than  ten  years  ago. 

"  In  France,  the  Royal  flock  (now  the  private  pro- 
perty of  the  Emperor),  at  Kambouillet,  which,  for 
years,  attracted  all  the  sheep  masters  'of  Europe  to  its 
annual  auction  sale,  bred  the  fleece  so  fine,  and  the 
animals  so  delicate,  that  they  could  no  longer  attract 
attention ;  and,  four  years  ago,  they  changed  the  plan, 
and  now  sell  (when  they  can)  at  private  sale.  The 
sheep  have  no  wool  on  the  head  or  legs,  and  but  little 
on  the  belly.  They  are  ruined  by  high  breeding. 
The  wool  is  short  and  fine. 

"  In  France  forage  is  more  than  double  the  price 
that  it  is  in  this  country.  The  price  of  mutton  is  also 
about  double,  and  the  price  of  wool,  on  the  average 
of  the  last  fifteen  years,  about  twenty-four  to  twenty- 
six  cents  per  pound,  always  in  the  grease.  Ewes' 
fleeces  average  14  Ibs.  (in  flocks  of  500),  and 
rams  20  Ibs.  to  24  Ibs.  Say  average  weight  for 
ewes  (all  ages)  100  Ibs.,  and  rams  200  Ibs.  One 
ram  I  bought  (for  3,000  francs  or  $600)  weighed 
309  Ibs.,  carrying  a  fleece,  unwashed,  of  thirty-two 
Ibs.  Fair  estimate  of  loss,  in  cleansing,  sixty  per  cent. 

"  iFis  from  this  class  of  flocks  I  have  selected  my 
Merinos.  It  is  from  wool  of  this  class  that  the  fine 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  23 

French  muslin  de  laines  are  made,  as  it  has  length  oi 
staple  and  fineness,  with  requisite  strength,  which  is 
all  important. 

"  Three  years  ago  a  gentleman  sent  me,  from  Estre- 
madura,  a  number  of  Spanish  Merino  fleeces  as  a  sam- 
ple (as  circumstances  did  not  allow  me  to  see  his  flock 
when  in  Spain).  They  were  little  wads  of  fleeces.  I 
can  send  you  one  if  you  have  any  curiosity  to  see  it."* 

The  remarkable  fact  is  made  to  appear,  from  these 
statements  of  Mr.  Taintor,  that,  at  the  period  of  his 
importations,  there  were  flocks  of  500  in  France  which 
produced  14  Ibs.  of  wool  to  the  ewe,  and  from  20  to 
24  Ibs.  to  the  rams.  If  we  are  to  suppose  the  belly 
and  tag  wool  excluded  from  these  also,  then  the  ewes 
produce  nearly  9  Ibs.  6  oz.,  and  the  rams  about  14  Ibs. 
11  oz.  of  brook-washed  wool.  If,  as  I  conjecture, 
grown  sheep  are  only  referred  to  here,  the  weight  of 
the  ewes  probably  averaged  not  far  from  150  Ibs.,  and 
the  rams  at  least  200  Ibs.f 

I  have  traced  down  the  history  of  these  sheep  to 
the  period  of  their  comparatively  recent  emigration 
to  the  United  States,  although  two  or  three  importa- 

*  One  of  these  fleeces  has  been  forwarded  to  me.  It  is  in  the  dirt, 
and  weighs  five  Ibs.  eleven  oz.  It  is  difficult  to  judge  its  exact  qual- 
ity, as  exposure  to  the  air  has  converted  much  of  it  to  the  color  of  a 
sponge,  and  altered  its  appearance  in  other  particulars.  It  is  about 
as  long  as  American  Merino  wool — is  not  very  even  in  quality,  and  I 
think  I  am  not  mistaken  in  saying  that  in  fineness  it  would  be  below 
mediocrity  in  any  prime  full  blood  American  flock.  Having  been  sent 
among  specimens  from  Spain  it  ought  to  be  up,  at  least,  to  the  average 
quality  and  quantity  of  fleeces  in  that  country. 

•j-I  have  seen  flocks  of  Mr.  Taintor's  imported  sheep,  and  their  im- 
mediate descendants,  numbering  thirty  or  forty  each,  and  I  judge  this 
about  the>  average  weight  of  the  full  grown  ewes  when  in  good  con- 
dition. They  varied  from  125  to  180  Ibs. — an  occasional  one  reaching 
200  Ibs. 


24  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

tions  of  them,  hereafter  to  be  mentioned,  were  made 
about  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  But  I 
cannot  learn  that  all  of  the  latter  included  more  than 
a  dozen  living  sheep  on  their  arrival  in  this  country. 
And  it  is  probable  either  that  these  were  soon  mixed 
with  the  Spanish  Merinos  of  the  country,  or  else  that 
they  had  not  yet  obtained  established  characteristics 
differing  sufficiently  from  those  of  the  latter  to  found 
a  separate  family.  At  least  no  family,  bearing  any 
resemblance  to  the  present  French  sheep,  sprung  from 
them. 

The  Saxon  Merino, 

Though  France  took  priority  in  the  introduction  of 
the  emigrant  Merinos,  Saxony  effected  an  earlier  suc- 
cessful colonization  of  them.  In  1765  Prince  Xavier, 
administrator  of  the  Electorate  during  the  minority 
of  the  Elector,  Frederick  Christian,  obtained  the  per- 
mission of  his  brother-in-law,  the  King  of  Spain,  to 
introduce  three  hundred  Merinos  into  Saxony,  and 
other  flocks  on  subsequent  occasions.  It  is  understood 
that  the  sheep  were  principally  drawn  from  the  Es- 
curial  cabana. 

The  course  of  breeding  adopted  in  the  Electoral 
and  private  establishments  tended  to  develop  an  ex- 
treme fineness  of  wool  at  a  material  sacrifice  of  other 
properties.  Size  of  carcass,  weight  of  fleece,  and 
constitutional  vigor,  were  rapidly  diminished.  The 
loss  of  hardiness  was  met  by  an  extreme  care  of  the 
animal,  extending  to  those  minute  and  methodical 
arrangements  which  are  so  congenial  to  the  spirit 
of  German  agriculture,  and  which  were  rendered 
economically  practicable  by  the  cheapness  of  labor. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  25 

ft 

The  sheep  were  housed  during  the  winter  (usually 
in  spacious  and  well  arranged  structures  of  brick  or 
stone).  They  were  housed  at  night,  and  generally 
brought  in  for  a  time  at  noon,  in  the  warm  weather ; 
their  carefully  selected  and  constantly  varying  food 
was  portioned  out  to  them  with  the  strictest  nicety ; 
they  had  a  daily  routine,  and  a  monthly  routine  of 
nutriment ;  they  were  never  allowed  to  go  out  when 
dew  was  on  the  grass ;  they  were  .most  carefully  pro- 
tected from  rain,  and  fed  in  stables  during  its  con- 
tinuance ;  they  were  not  allowed  to  run  on  particular 
kinds  of  ground  in  damp  weather,  etc.,  etc.  And, 
during  the  yeaning  season,  the  regularity  and  care  of 
the  attendance  they  received  did  not  fall  far  short  of 
those  of  a  human  lying-in  hospital. 

These  sheep,  when  introduced  into  the  United 
States,  lacked  at  least  one-fifth,  and  often  more,  of  the 
weight  of  the  parent  Spanish  Merino,  as  it  then  was  : 
they  were  longer  legged  in  proportion  to  size,  slimmer, 
finer  boned,  and  thinner  in  the  neck  and  head.  At 
every  point  they  gave  indications  of  a  more  delicate 
organization.  Their  fleeces  averaged  from  one  and  a 
half  to  two  pounds  of  washed  wool  in  ewes,  and  from 
two  to  three  pounds  in  rams.  There  was  sufficient 
yolk  in  the  fleece  to  give  it  pliancy  and  brilliancy, 
but  the  yolk  was  colorless,  limpid,  and  easily  liberated 
in  washing.  It  never  assumed  a  viscid,  waxy  con- 
sistency, or  became  indurated  into  "gum"  either 
within  or  on  the  outer  extremity  of  the  wool,  and 
consequently  having  nothing  on  the  surface  to  catch 
and  retain  dirt,  the  fleece  remained  almost  white  ex- 
ternally. 

The  staple  unstretched  was  usually  from  an  inch  to 
2 


26  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

• 

an  incli  and  a  half  in  length  on  the  back  and  sides, 
shorter  on  the  belly,  and  formed  a  considerably  less 
compact  mass  than  that  of  the  Spanish  Merino.  In 
the  best  sheep,  the  surface  of  the  fleece  was  smooth 
and  even  (as  if  it  had  been  cut  off  at  a  uniform 
length),  and  it  broke  into  masses  of  some  size ;  but 
in  inferior  animals  the  wool  grew  in  small  discon- 
nected tufts,  which  ended  in  points  externally  ;  these 
fell  apart  on  the  shoulder  and  along  the  back,  and  in 
some  instances  partly  hung  down  like  hair  or  Leices- 
ter wool,  instead  of  standing  at  right  angles  to  the 
surface.  The  last  indicated  extreme  thinness  of  fleece. 
When  to  this  was  added  a  gauzy,  half-peeled  nose  and 
ear — an  ear  as  thin  and  almost  as  transparent  as 
parchment — a  pale  skin,  a  carcass  without  depth  and 
about  six  inches  thick,  a  camel-shaped  neck,  and  long 
spider  legs,  the  "  lower  deep"  of  debility  and  de- 
generacy was  reached. 

But  there  was  an  atoning  beauty  about  the  wool  of 
the  Saxon  which  it  was  hard  to  resist.  It  flashed  with 
such  a  gem-like  lustre  ;  it  was  so  beautifully  fine  and 
even ;  it  had  such  an  exquisite  downiness  of  touch, 
that  all  other  wool  seemed  base  by  the  side  of  it.  I 
have  seen  it  so  pliant,  that  a  lock  of  it  held  upright 
by  the  outer  end,  between  a  thumb  and  finger,  and 
gently  played  up  and  down,  would  bend  and  dance 
like  a  plume. 

•  According  to  Youatt's  measurements,  the  fibre  was 
about  g-i-¥  of  an  inch  in  diameter ;  but  he  did  not  ob- 
tain fine  specimens  of  the  wool. 

This  variety  had  "  touched  bottom"  in  physical  de- 
generacy at  the  period  of  its  importation  to  the  United 
States,  and  a  reaction  was  commencing  in  breeding. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  27 

As  there  have  been  recent  American  importations  of 
them,  I  will  present  a  brief  view  of  the  present  prime 
sheep  of  Germany. 

That  the  former  inferiority  both  in  weight  of 
fleece  and  carcass  continues  to  exist  in  the  flocks 
of  Saxony,  Silesia,  and  all  parts  of  Germany 
where  these  sheep  have  become  established,  is 
certain.  But  such  breeders  as  Baron  Yon  Sternburg 
in  Saxony,  Prince  Lichnowsky  and  Mr.  Fischer  in 
Silesia,  and  various  large  proprietors  in  Hungary,  have 
bred  on  the  principle  that  good  size  and  compactness 
of  form  and  fleece  are  essential  to  profit.  Yon  Stern- 
burg  (Alexander  Speck  Yon  Sternburg,  generally 
called  Baron  Speck  by  Americans)  is  now  better 
known  in  this  country  than  any  other  German  breed- 
er. I  think  most  if  not  all  of  our  late  Saxon  im- 
portations have  been  made  from  his  admirable  flock. 
In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Wright,  the  American  Minister  to 
Berlin,  written  in  1859,*  the  Baron  gave  the  follow- 
ing as  the  average  weights  of  his  sheep  :  full  grown 
rams,  110  Ibs. ;  ewes,  82  Ibs. ;  wethers  when  fat  for 
the  butcher,  110  Ibs.  to  115  Ibs.  The  average  weight 
of  the  washed  fleeces  of  his  ewes  was  2  Ibs.  7"  oz. ;  of 
his  wethers,  2  Ibs.  8  oz.  ;  of  his  yearlings,  2  Ibs.  5 
oz.  :  of  his  rams,  4  Ibs.  to  6  Ibs.  14  oz.  The  flock 
numbers  1,200.  Jlis  best  ewes  undoubtedly  produce 
as  much  as  3  Ibs.  a  head,  and  kept  in  smaller  flocks^ 
and  pampered,  would  produce  nearly  or  quite  3  Ibs. 

4:OZ. 

Mr.  Charles  L.  Fleichmann,  formerly  draughtsman 

*  For  his  sensible  and  practical  letter  containing  much  information 
in  respect  to  German  sheep  husbandry,  see  Patent  Office  Keport,  1869, 
p.  288. 


28  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

of  the  United  States  Patent  Office,  attended  the  great 
meeting  of  German  agriculturists  at  Breslau,  in  1845, 
where  particular  attention  was  given  to  the  subject 
of  wool ;  and  that  gentleman  communicated  the  re- 
sult of  his  very  minute  observations  in  an  instruc- 
tive paper  prepared  at  the  request  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Patents.*  In  this  paper,  the  sheep  of  the 
manor  of  Alcsuth,  in  Hungary,  are  mentioned  as  a 
flock  of  high  reputation  throughout  Germany.  I  do 
not  observe  that  their  average  weight  of  carcass  is 
given,  but  Mr.  Fleichmann  speaks  of  their  "sur- 
prising size"  and  says,  "  there  are  some  rams  that 
measure  five  feet  from  the  muzzle  to  the  root  of  the  tail, 
and  twenty-nine  inches  from  the  bottom  to  the  chine. "f 

The  average  weight  of  their  fleeces  was  as  fol- 
lows :  rams  3  Ibs.,  wethers  3  Ibs.  8  oz.,  ewes  2  Ibs. 
8  oz.,  lambs  14  oz.  The  wool  was  extremely  well 
washed.  The  flock  numbered  ten  thousand.  A  di- 
minution of  numbers,  a  selection  of  the  heaviest 
fleeced,  and  pampering,  would  produce  the  same  in- 
crease in  the  weight  of  wool  that  has  been  assumed 
the  like  circumstances  would  produce  in  the  Baron 
Yon  Sternburg's  flock. 

The  Baron  sells  his  wool  from  2s.  8d.  to  3s.  2d. 
per  pound  (English  currency,  I  take  it).  The  Alc- 
suth wool  was  sold  in  1838  for  72|-  cents  a  pound,  in 


*  See  Patent  Office  Report,  1841,  p.  239,  et  seq. 

f  This  is  a  considerably  longer  and  taller  sheep  than  the  Spanish 
Merino,  or  than  the  American  Merino  of  approved  size  and  form.  See 
Petri's  table,  already  given,  with  subjoined  American  measurements, 
and  remarks.  I  cannot  think  that  such  length  and  height  would  find 
any  favor  in  Germany,  in  animals  producing  only  three  pounds  of 
wool 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY.  29 

1839  for  T9  cents,  and  in  1840  and  1841,  when  prices 
were  depressed,  for  64  cents. 

At  Breslau  is  the  most  celebrated  wool  market  of 
Germany,  frequented  by  manufacturers  and  wool  mer- 
chants from  England,  France,  Belgium,  Russia,  and 
other  nations.  The  following  table  of  what  is  about 
the  average  annual  prices  of  the  seven  qualities  into 
which  the  German  fine  wools  are  sorted,  will  be 
found  instructive  for  the  purposes  of  comparison  :* 

Cwt.  Keichthalers.     Dolls. 

3,  OOO-are  of  the  finest  quality  and  average  about .  1 3 0  =      98  per  cwt. 

4,000 : 110=       77      do. 

5,000 : 100=  70  do. 

10,000 90=  63  do. 

15,000.... 80=  56  do. 

15,000 70=  49  do; 

8,000 50a60  =35a42      do. 

Baron  Yon  Sternburg's  sheep  farm  has  some  other 
stock.  He  realizes  5£  per  cent,  from  the  whole,  and 
appears  well  satisfied  with  his  profits.  It  is  probably 
a  high  rate  of  profit  for  any  of  the  great  German 
or  Hungarian  sheep  establishments. 

Tlie  Silesian  Merino. 

There  is  not,  perhaps,  properly  speaking,  any  dis- 
tinct family  of  Merinos*  entitled  exclusively  to  this 
appellation.  There  are  in  Prussian  Silesia  numerous 
flocks  descended  from  the  Saxon  Merinos,  and  not  a 
few  descended  from  Merinos  brought  direct  from 
Spain.  In  the  only  important  importation  made 
from  Silesia  to  the  United  States,  of  which  I  have 
information,  the  sheep  belong  to  the  latter  class, 

*  See  Fleickmann's  paper,  Patent  Office  Eeport,  1847,  p.  293, 


30  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

and  so  far  as  this  country  is  concerned  they  have  re- 
ceived the  distinctive  name  of  Silesian  Merinos. 

I  will  reserve  a  description  of  this  flock,  until  the 
subject  of  importations  of  Merinos  into  the  United 
States  is  specially  considered. 

Introduction  of  Merinos  into  the  United  States. 

In  1793,  William  Foster,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
being  on  his  return  from  a  residence  at  Cadiz,  in 
Spain,  "  with  much  difficulty  and  risk"  got  out  of  that 
kingdom,  and  brought  home  with  him  three  Merino 
sheep — two  ewes  and  one  ram.  Their  fate  was  some- 
what characteristic  of  American  knowledge  of  sheep 
at  that  time.  Mr.  Foster  writes:  "Being  about  to 
leave  this  country  for  France,  soon  after  my  arrival 
in  Boston,  I  presented  these  sheep  to  Mr.  Andrew 
Craigie,  of  Cambridge,  who,  not  knowing  their  value 
at  that  time,  '  simply  ate  them,'  as  he  told  me  years 
after  when  I  met  him  at  an  auction  buying  a  Merino 
ram  for  $1,000."* 

In  1801,  Dupont  de  Nemours,  the  head  of  the  com- 
mission appointed  by  the  French  government  to  select, 
in  Spain,  the  large  flock  of  Merinos  given  up  by  the 
latter  by  the  treaty  of  Basle,  together  with  a  Mr.  De- 
lessert,  a  Parisian  banker,  shipped  four  ram  lambs  to 
America,  three  of  them  intended  for  farms  owned  by 
those  gentlemen  in  the  United  States,  and  the  fourth 

*  George  Livermore,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  writes  me:  "Mr.  Foster  is 
still  living  at  the  advanced  age  of  nearly  ninety  years,  and  I  have 
this  day  called  on  him,  and  heard  from  his  own  lips  an  account  of  his 
importation  of  Merino  sheep  substantially  the  same  as  that  given 
above  (January  20,  1862)." 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  31 

for  President  Jefferson.  Three  perished  on  the  pas- 
sage, but  the  other  arrived  safely,  and  lived  to  effect  a 
vast  deal  of  good.* 

Later,  the  same  year,  Mr.  Seth  Adams,  of  Zanes- 
ville,  Ohio,  imported  a  pair  of  Spanish  sheep  which 
had  been  carried  into  France.  They  arrived  in  Bos- 
ton in  October,  and  received  the  premium  of  the 
Massachusetts  Society  for  Promoting  Agriculture,  the 
following  year.f 

In  1802,  Mr.  Livingston,  the  American  Minister  in 
France,  sent  home  two  pairs  of  Merinos  to  his  estate 
on  the  Hudson.  They  were  purchased  from  the 
French  National  flock,  at  the  Veterinary  school,  at 
Chalons.  They  cost  him,  delivered  at  Paris,  five  miles 
distant,  1,200  francs,  and  about  twice  that  sum  deliv- 
ered at  his  farm,  though  the  patriotic  captain  of  the 
vessel  refused  to  take  any  freight.:):  One  of  his  rams 

*  "Don  Pedro"  was  taken  to  Dupont's  place,  near  New  York.  In 
1802  he  was  placed  on  Delessert's  farm,  called  Rosendale,  near  King- 
ston, N".  T.,  and  was  used  there  for  four  years.  In  1805  Delessert 
rented  his  farm,  and  sold  his  sheep  at  auction.  The  ram  was  bought 
by  Dupont's  agent  for  sixty  dollars.  The  half  and  three-quarter  blood 
ewes  were  sold  to  the  surrounding  farmers  "at  a  price  inferior  to  that 
of  common  sheep,"  and  above  half  of  them  "perished  of  neglect  the 
following  winter."  (Preface  to  Livingston's  Essay.)  Chancellor 
Livingston  found  twenty-four  of  them  and  bought  them  after  the  in- 
troduction of  his  Merinos.  "Don  Pedro"  was  removed,  in  1808,  to 
E.  I.  Dupont's  farm,  near  Wilmington,  Delaware.  That  spirited  gen- 
tleman offered  the  ram's  services  gratuitously  to  his  neighbors,  but 
scarcely  any  of  them  availed  themselves  of  the  offer!  He,  however, 
founded  a  valuable  flock  for  his  owner.  This  superb  animal,  for  that 
day,  weighed' 138  Ibs.,  and  his  fleece,  well  washed  in  cold  water,  8 
Ibs.  8  oz.  His  wool  was  fine  and  even,  and  he  was  a  model  of  form. 

f  Mr.  Adams  published  this  statement  in  the  Albany  Cultivator 
nany  years  ago,  and  its  authenticity  has  never  been  disputed. 

$  They  were  treated,  on  their  arrival,  exactly  like  his  other  sheep — 


32  FINE   WOOL   SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

is  figured  from  a  drawing  furnished  by  himself,  in 
Yol.  I,  of  the  "  Transactions  of  the  (N.  Y.)  Society 
for  the  Promotion  of  Agriculture,  Arts,  and  Manufac- 
tures." It  represents  a  low,  compact  animal,  with  a 
smooth,  long  face,  a  skin  free  from  folds  on  any  part, 
and  legs  without  wool  below  the  knees.  Though 
somewhat  out  of  drawing,  it  is,  obviously,  the  figure 
of  a  class  of  Merinos  very  common  twenty  years  ago, 
and  yet  to  be  found  in  ordinary  unimproved  flocks. 
The  type  is  essentially  Spanish,  there  not  being  the 
most  remote  resemblance  to  the  French  sheep  of  the 
present  day. 

Mr.  Livingston  made  another  importation  of  a  sin- 
gle French  ram  in  1807,  and  he  speaks  of  having  pur- 
chased some  choice  ewes  brought  to  France  from 
Spain.  But  I  do  not  learn  that  the  latter  ever  arrived 
in  this  country.  His  sheep  attracted  no  special  notice 
until  1807  or  1808,  when  he  began  to  sell  his  rams  for 
$150  apiece.*  Half-blood  rams  and  ewes,  bred  from 
his  rams  on  common  sheep,  sold  for  twelve  dollars  a 
piece. 

This  eminent  public  benefactor  had  too  many  pur- 
fed  on  hay,  and  had  no  shelter.  They  brought  two  lambs  the  first 
year,  and  three  of  them  (he  had  let  his  brother  have  one  of  the  rams) 
sheared  11  Ibs.  of  washed  wool — nearly  3  Ibs.  12  oz.  each.  The  next 
year  the  lambs  came  in  January,  "were  neglected,  and  died  I"  In 
1805  "one  of  the  ewes  was  sick  and  brought  no  lamb;  the  other 
dropped  a  ewe  lamb  ;  and  the  five  fleeces  (from  the  three  old  sheep 
and  two  shearlings),  when  washed,  weighed  18  Ibs.,  besides  the  tags 
and  waste  wool,"  upwards  of  3  Ibs.  8  oz.  each.  The  Chancellor 
"thought  this  a  considerable  yield  from  small  sheep,  kept  upon  hay, 
in  a  flock  with  twenty  other  sheep  1"  See  Livingston's  Essay,  &c.,  in 
]  806,  subsequently  expanded  into  his  more  elaborate  Essay  of  1809. 

*  For  a  choice  one-  raised  by  himself,  ten  months  old,  he  refused 
$1,000. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  33 

suits  to  be  able  to  give  much  of  his  personal  attention 
to  breeding.  His  sheep  improved,  and  were  of  good 
quality,  but  he  established  no  distinct  family,  of  special 
value,  which  has  survived  until  the  present  time. 

In  the  same  year  with  Mr.  Livingston's  first  im- 
portation (1802),  Colonel  Humphreys,*  the  American 
Minister  in  Spain,  being  about  to  return  from  that 
country,  after  an  official  residence  in  it  of  seven  years, 
brought  home  with  him  a  flock  of  Merinos.  I  quote 
the  following  statements  from  his  "  Dissertation,"  &c., 
addressed  to  the  Massachusetts  "  Society  for  Promoting 
Agriculture"  (August  25,  1802) : 

"  Convinced  that  this  race  of  sheep,  of  which,  I  be- 
lieve, not  one  had  been  brought  to  the  United  States 
until  the  importation  by  myself,  f  might  be  introduced 
with  great  benefit  to  our  country,  I  contracted  with  a 
person,  of  the  most  respectable  character,  to  deliver  to 
me,  at  Lisbon,  one  hundred,  composed  of  twenty-five 
rams  and  seventy-five  ewes,  from  one  to 'two  years  old. 
They  were  conducted  with  proper  passports,  across 
the  country  of  Portugal,  by  three  Spanish  shepherds, 
and  escorted  by  a  small  guard  of  Portuguese  soldiers. 
On  the  tenth  of  April  last  they  were  embarked  in  the 
Tagus,  on  board  the  ship  Perseverance,  of  250  tons, 
Caleb  Coggeshall,  master.  In  about  fifty  days,  twenty- 
one  rams,  and  seventy  ewes  were  landed  at  Derby, 
Connecticut,  they  having  been  shifted,  at  ISTew  York, 

*  He  was  an  aide-de-camp  of  Washington  in  the  Eevolution,  and  an 
inmate  of  his  family  at  Mount  Yernon  from  1788  to  1790.  He  was  an 
elegant,  learned,  and  public-spirited  gentleman. 

f  Livingston  said  his  own  "arrived  safely  in  the  spring  of  1802,  and 
were,  he  believed,  the  first  couples  ever  imported  into  the  United 
States."  (Pref.  to  Essay,)  It  is  probable,  therefore,  Livingston's 
arrived  a  little  the  earliest.  The  point  is  of  no  consequence,  but  I  am 
told  it  created  some  feeling  in  its  day. 


34  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

on  board  of  a  sloop  destined  to  that  river.  The  nine 
which  died  were  principally  killed  in  consequence  of 
bruises  received  b y  the  violent  rolling  of  the  vessel  on 
the  banks  of  Newfoundland."* 

It  does  not  appear,  from  his  writings,  that  Colonel 
Humphreys  paid  any  attention  to  the  difference  in  the 
cabanas  in  Spain. f  It  has  been  suggested  to  me,  by 

*  See  Col.  Humphreys'  Works,  p.  349.  In  this  gentleman's  poem 
"On  the  Industry  of  the  United  States  of  America,"  after  a  glowing 
description  of  the  times : 

"  When  true  utility,  with  taste  allied, 
•  Shall  make  our  homespun  garbs  our  Nation's  pride," 
he  proceeds  to  say — 

"  Not  guarded  Colchis  gave  admiring  Greece 
So  rich  a  treasure  in  its  golden  fleece. 

"  Oh,  might  my  guidance  from  the  downs  of  Spain, 
Lead  a  white  flock  across  the  western  main; 
Famed,  like  the  bark  that  bore  the  Argonaut, 
Should  be  the  vessel  with  the  burden  fraught ! 
Clad  in  the  raiment  my  Merinos  yield, 
Like  Cincinnatus,  fed  from  my  own  field, 
Far  from  ambition,  grandeur,  care,  and  strife, 
In  sweet  fruition  of  domestic  life ; 
There  would  I  pass,  with  friends,  beneath  my  trees, 
What  rests  from  public  life  in  lettered  ease." 

f  "I  am  indebted  to  George  Livermore,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  for  several 
MSS.  letters  of  Colonel  Humphreys,  specially  on  the  subject  of  his 
sheep,  addressed  to  different  correspondents,  and  not  one  of  them 
mentions  or  alludes  to  this  subject.  If  I  recollect  aright  the  name  of 
any  separate  cabana  does  not  occur  in  his  published  papers.  He  was 
the  son  of  a  clergyman,  and,  not  long  after  leaving  college,  entered  the 
army.  During  his  two  years'  residence  at  Mount  Yernon  he  doubtless 
acquired  many  agricultural  tastes,  but  he  could  have  known  little  or 
nothing  of  it  practically  until  his  return  from  Spain.  Prior  to  that  pe- 
riod his  leisure  hours  appear  to  have  been  devoted  to  polite  literature. 
He  does  not  mention  ever  even  seeing  any  of  the  great  Spanish  flocks  • 
and  alone  mentions,  as  the  sources  of  the  information  given  by  him  in 
his  Dissertation,  "  the  facts  stated,  in  some  instances,  by  respectable 
individuals,  and,  in  others,  by  official  reports." 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  35 

a  most  intelligent  correspondent,  that,  being  an  am- 
bassador, lie  was,  probably,  allowed  to  draw  his  sheep 
from  the  Escurial  flock,  and  I  find  that  this  impression 
is  somewhat  prevalent.  Those  who  have  read  his 
writings,  and  observed  the  old-school  ceremonious 
courtesy,  as  well  as  the  other  tastes  developed  in 
them,  will  have  no  difficulty  in  arriving  at  a  very  posi- 
tive conclusion  that,  had  Colonel  Humphreys  been 
indebted  to  any  proprietor  of  a  cabana  for  a  selection 
from  his  flock,  or  for  any  other  particular  favor  in  the 
premises,  the  fact  would  have  been  carefully  stated. 
It  is  to  be  presumed  he  made  inquiries  in  the  proper 
place,  and  was  referred  to  a  thoroughly  capable,  as 
well  as  "respectable"  person,  to  make  the  purchases 
for  him,  and  there  is  no  doubt  the  commission  was 
most  intelligently  and  faithfully 'executed.  JSTo  flock 
enjoyed  a  better  early  reputation  in  our  country,  and 
none  enjoys  a  better  traditional  reputation  now.  With 
the  Spanish  ideas  in  respect  to  mixing  cabanas,  such  a 
Spanish  agent  as  he  employed  would  not  have  pro- 
cured different  varieties  as  the  foundation  of  a  flock. 
It  is  singular  how  few  things,  in  relation  to  these 
sheep,  can  now  be  agreed  on  by  different  recollectors ; 
and  the  contemporaneous  descriptions  are  usually  so 
vague  and  general  that  they  will  apply  to  one  variety 
as  well  as  another. 

In  a  manuscript  letter  of  Colonel  Humphreys,  be 
fore  me,  he  says,  as  if  he  thought  it  worthy  of  note, 
that  a  ram,  raised  on  his  farm,  yielded  7  Ibs.  5  oz.  of 
washed  wool.  In  an  Essay,  obviously  written  by  a 
gentleman,  and  a  man  of  the  first  intellig'ence  and 
standing,  but  whose  name  is  torn  from  the  copy  before 
me,  there  is  a  more  careful  description  than  I  have 


36  FINE   WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

elsewhere  seen,  of  a  full-blood  ram  of  this  flock,  owned 
by  Mr.  Bulkley,  of  Philadelphia,  and  lent  by  him  to 
the  writer  in  1807.*  This  ram  was  very  small,  very 
fine,  and  produced  but  4  Ibs.  of  washed  wool.  His 
"  length  of  staple  was  somewhat  less  than  that  of  Mr. 
Livingston's  rams."  "  He  was  extremely  gentle,  and 
strongly  marked  with  the  carnation  hue  of  skin ;  had 
spiral  horns,  and  brownness  of  fleece  surface,  all  of 
which  qualities  he  faithfully  transmitted  to  his  progeny 
in  their  usual  proportions."  The  "  brownness  penetra- 
ted to  some  depth  from  the  surface."  His  lambs,  when 
they  came,  were  "  covered  with  coarse  hairs,"  to  the 
great  suspicion  of  their  paternity,  until  it  was  found 
this  hair  dropped  off,  and  that  his  subsequent  crops 
of  lambs  exhibited  the  same  peculiarity.  Here  we 
have  a  distinct  hint  of  Paular  or  Infantado  character- 
istics. Yet  Colonel  Humphreys'  sheep  could  scarcely 
have  been  Paulars  without  some  one  alluding  to  their 
throatiness — a  point  which  then  attracted  peculiar 
notice,  both  because  it  was  unusual  and  regarded  as 
unsightly.  Besides,  the  sheep  we  now  have  among 
us,  which  can  trace  a  clear  descent  from  Colonel  Hum- 
phreys' flock,  are  not  marked  by  this  peculiarity  unless 
it  has  been  bred  on  them  within  the  last  fifteen  or 
twenty  years.  It  can  hardly  be  presumed  that  the 
American  Ambassador  would  have  been  placed  by  his 
Spanish  acquaintances  in  the  hands  of  an  agent  who 
would  have  purchased  from  an  obscure  flock,  or  one 
not  among  the  first.  I  do  not  build  up  a  hypothesis 

*  This  writer  mentions  that  he  wrote  the  article  on  wool  hi  the 

Cyclopaedia;  and  he  was  the  importer  of  the  black  Merinos  next 

to  be  described,  I  have  had  considerable  search  made  in  Philadelphia 
to  discover  his  name,  but  as  yet  without  success. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY..  37 

on  the  single  fact  above  given ;  it  is  only  one  among 
a  number  of  scattering  hints  and  circumstances  which 
have  led  me  to  the  opinion  that  the  sheep  were  from 
the  cabana  of  the  Duke  of  Infantado.* 

One  thing  is  certain.  ISTo  such  ram  as  Mr.  Bulk- 
ley's  could  have  been  of  Escurial  blood.  And  the 
darkest  and  yolkiest  sheep  bred  in  the  United  States 
(Mr.  Stephen  Atwood's  family),  which  trace  directly 
to  sheep  bred  by  Colonel  Humphreys,  cannot  be  de- 
scended from  the  whitest  and  dryest  fleeced  sheep  of 
Spain. ' 

Judging  from  the  statements  in  Colonel  Humphreys' 
manuscript  letters  lying  before  me,  he  not  only  found 
great  satisfaction  but  great  success  in  breeding  his 
sheep.  The  very  ones  he  brought  from  Spain,  he 
says,  increased  half  a  pound  in  their  fleeces ;  and  their 
descendants  continued  to  improve  in  that  and  every 
other  particular.  He  speaks  glowingly  of  their  hardi- 
ness and  propensity  to  fatten;  and  in  the  highest 
terms  of  their  mutton.  This  gentleman  (to  whom  the 
farmers  of  New  England  should  erect  a  statue)  died  in 
1818,  when  causes,  hereafter  to  be  detailed,  had  sunk 
the  Merinos  into  contempt  and  neglect.  His  invalua- 
ble sheep  were  then  scattered,  and,  as  a  general  *hing, 
they  appear  to  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  those  who 
attached  no  great  value  to  their  blood,  for  I  can 
learn,  of  but  two  or  three  instances  where  they  were 
preserved  distinct  after  1826 ;  and  it  is  a  lesson  of 


*  Colonel  Humphreys  was  a  favorite  at  both  the  courts  of  Portu- 
gal and  Spain.  He  had  been  made  highly  wealthy  by  marriage.  He 
had  the  means  to  pay  for  the  best ;  and  those  who  know  any  thing  of 
him,  know  how  absurd  it  would  be  to  suppose  he  failed  to  instruct  his 
ajjcnt  to  obtain  the  best. 


38  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

some  value  to  those  who  term  themselves  "  breeders," 
to  know  that  those  who  had  the  good  sense  or  good 
luck  thus  to  preserve  them  in  their  purity  were  far- 
mers of  little  information,  and  wholly  obscure  until 
their  connection  with  these  sheep  raised  them  to 
notoriety. 

Mr.  — ?*  of  Philadelphia,  had,  as  early 

as  1796-'97,  sent  on  order  to  Spain  for  a  Merino  ram. 
The  animal  reached  the  Capes  of  Delaware  safely, 
but  was  there  washed  overboard  in  a  storm.  He  sent 
an  order  for  a  pair  in  1801,  instead  of  which  two 
pairs  of  Hack  ones  reached  him  in  1803 !  This  he 
supposed  done  to  "  increase  the  profit  of  the  commis- 
sion," for  black  Merinos  "  cost  but  little,  being  held  in 
no  estimation  in  Spain."  This  gentleman  bred  from 
these  assiduously  for  a  few  years,  but  nobody  would 
buy  them,  and  they  had  to  be  abandoned. 

Mr.  Muller  imported  a  pair  of  Merinos  from  the 
flock  of  the  Prince  of  Hesse  Cassel  in  1807,  and  they, 
and  their  descendants,  were  kept  about  Philadelphia, 
and  in  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  James  Caldwell, 
Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  interbred,  with  success,  between 
these  and  sheep  from  Colonel  Humphreys'  flock. 

But  by  far  the  most  extensive  and  important  impor- 
tations of  Spanish  Merinos  into  the  United  States  were 


*  See  second  note  back,  and  the  text  to  which  it  is  appended.  I 
find  this  account  of  his  importation  of  black,  sheep  in  the  fragmentary 
Essay  mentioned  in  such  text.  The  Essay  will  be  found  in  a  volume 
of  the  Slate  Agricultural  Library,  made  up  of  miscellaneous  papers  and 
extracts.  It  appears  to  have  been  published,  in  1808  or  1809.  The 
author  says  the  price  of  his  sheep,  in  Spain,  was  $60,  freight  $20 
The  quantity  of  wool  yielded  by  the  two  rams  was  4f  and  4£  Ibs. ; 
by  the  ewes,  3£  and  3J-  Ibs.  This  was  washed  wool,  I  suppose. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  39 

thus  described  in  a  letter  to  me,  in  1841,'*  from  Hon. 
William  Jarvis,  the  principal  person  engaged  in  them : 

"  When  the  second  irruption  of  the  French  armies 
into  Spain,  in  the  winter  of  1809,  drove  the  Spanish 
Junto  from  Madrid  to  Badajos,  the  Junto  was  with- 
out money  and  without  resources,  and  they  durst  not 
levy  any  taxes  on  the  Estremaduras  lest  they  should 
disgust  that  province,  and  the  people  should  declare 
in  favor  of  the  French.  No  alternative  was,  there- 
fore, left  them  other  than  to  sell  the  four  flocks  of 
Merinos  which  had  been  confiscated  with  the  other 
property  of  four  grandees  who  had  joined  France,  with 
license  to  transport  them  out  of  Spain.  Those  flocks 
were  the  Paular,  which  had  belonged  to  the  celebrated 
Prince  of  Peace,  the  Negretti,  which  had  belonged  to 
the  Conde  Campo  de  Alange,  the  Aqueirres  (the  wool 
of  which  was  known  in  England  as  the  Muros,  this 
flock  having  been  the  property  of  the  Moors  before 
their  expulsion  from  Spain),  which  had  belonged  to  the 
Conde  de  Aqueirres,  and  the  Montarco,  which  had  be- 
longed to  the  Conde  of  that  name.  These  flocks  were 
then  in  the  vicinity  of  Badajos,  and,  when  confis- 
cated, the  two  former  numbered  about  five  thousand 
each,  and  the  two  latter  about  twenty  thousand  each ; 
but  they  had  been  reduced,  by  being  unceremoni- 
ously slaughtered  for  the  use  of  the  armies,  to  about 
seven  thousand  five  hundred  Paulars,  six  thousand 
Negrettis,  four  thousand  Montarcos,  and  three  thou- 
sand Aqueirres.  Four  thousand  of  the  Paular  flock 
were  sent  to  the  King  of  England,  in  compliance  with 
the  application  of  his  Minister,  and  General  Downie 
and  I  purchased  the  remainder.  Sir  Charles  Stewart, 
the  British  Minister,  purchased  the  Negretti  flock,  of 
which  I  selected  a  small  part,  and  the  remainder  he 

*  Published  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Ne\v- York  State  Agricultural 
Society  that  year. 


40  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

sent  to  England.  1  also  purchased  about  one  thousand 
three  hundred  Aqueirres,  and  selected  about  two 
hundred  from  the  Montarcos.  I  likewise  purchased, 
in  Spain,  two  hundred  of  the  Escurial  flock  from  the 
mayoral,  which  were  the  only  Escurials  ever  sent  to 
this  country.  I  shipped,  in  1809  and  1810,  about 
three  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty  to  this  coun- 
try of  the  aforementioned  flocks,  being  all  which  1 
purchased  in  Spain,  and  which  were  distributed  as 
follows:  about  one  thousand  five  hundred  to  ~New 
York;  one  thousand  to  Boston  and  Newburyport, 
including  three  hundred  and  fifty  which  I  sent  to 
be  reserved  for  me ;  the  remainder  were  sent  to 
Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Alexandria,  Norfolk,  and 
Richmond,  and  a  small  number  to  Wiscasset,  Port- 
land, and  Portsmouth,  as  I  was  disposed  to  distribute 
these  valuable  animals  to  every  State  which  would  be 
likely  to  profit  by  the  acquisition.  Those  I  reserved 
for  myself  were  composed  of  about  half  Paulars,  a 
quarter  Aqueirres,  and  the  other  fourth  of  Escurials, 
Negrettis,  and  Montarcos,  which  I  subsequently  mixed 
together. 

"There  were  sent,  in  the  latter  year  (1810),  by 
others,  about  two  thousand  five  hundred,  composed 
of  Paulars,  had  of  General  Downie,  Montarcos, 
Aqueirres  and  Guadalupes.  Part  of  those  went  to 
New  York,  part  to  Boston.  All  those  sheep  were 
Leonesa,  transhumantes,  and  were  of  the  prime  flocks 
of  Spain. 

"  I  have  been  able  to  be  thus  minute  in  relation  to 
the  Merinos  in  1809  and  1810,  as  I  was  then  Ameri- 
can Consul  at  Lisbon,  which  was  the  port  from  which 
they  were  all  shipped,  it  being  only  about  one  hun- 
dred miles  to  Badajos,  and  the  nearest  seaport  to  that 
place." 

It  was  thus  our  peculiar  good  fortune  at  the  period 
of  the  final  disruption,  and  dispersion  to  foreign  lands 


FINE    WOOL   SHEEP   HUSBANDRY.  41 

of  some  of  the  most  celebrated  flocks  of  Spain,  to 
have  on  the  spot  a  public  agent  who  had  the  sagacity 
and  energy  to  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity  to 
confer  an  inestimable  benefit  on  his  country. 

Mr.  Jarvis  very  unfortunately  crossed  a  portion 
of  his  large  flock  of  Spanish  Merinos  with  the 
Saxons,  when  the  latter  were  brought  into  the 
country ;  but  he  discovered  his  error  in  time  to  correct 
it,*  and  made  those  careful  arrangements  which 

*  Mr.  Jarvis  wrote  to  me  in  1844,  a  letter,  from  which  the  following 
and  some  other  extracts  were  published  in  the  same  year,  in  the 
Albany  Cultivator  and  New  York  Agriculturist : 

"In  May,  1826, 1  purchased  52  or  53  at  the  sale  in  Brighton,  Mass., 
cf  the  large  importation  of  Saxony  sheep  by  Messrs.  Searle,  of 
loston ;  and  the  following  autumn  I  selected  and  separated  one  hun- 
dred Merino  ewes  from  my  flock,  and  the  rest  I  crossed  with  Saxony 
bucks.  Those  hundred  Merinos  and  their  descendants  I  have  always 
been  careful  to  keep  by  themselves,  both  summer  and  winter,  and 
have  been  very  particular  in  the  choice  of  pure  blood  Merino  bucks 
to  put  to  them  for  breeding.  The  pure  blood  Merinos  I  kept  marked 
with  my  old  Merino  ear-mark,  a  half-penny  (or  notch)  under  each  car ; 
the  progeny  of  those  crossed  between  Merin6  and  Saxony,  with  two 
half-pennies  under  the  right  ear ;  and  the  full-blooded  Saxony  with 
two  half-pennies  under  each  ear. 

"  In  1831  or  1832,  finding  that  the  Saxony  crosses  were  reduced  in 
weight  of  fleece  from  four  pounds,  which  was  about  the  average  of 
mv  full  blood  Merino  flock,  to  two  pounds  ten  ounces,  or  two  pounds 
twelve  ounces  per  fleece,  upon  an  average,  I  took  out  all  the  remain- 
ing old  Merino  ewes,  and  put  them  with  the  descendants  of  the  one 
hundred  formerly  reserved  pure  bloods.  I  have  since  bred  all  the 
Merino  ewes  with  Merino  bucks ;  and  the  cross-blood  ewes  with  cross- 
blood  bucks,  selecting  those  with  the  heaviest  fleeces ;  and  full- 
blooded  Saxony  ewes  with  full-blooded  Saxony  bucks.  I  have  been 
very  particular  to  keep  the  three  kinds  of  ewes  apart,  winter  and 
summer.  This  I  have  been  easily  able  to  do,  as  I  have  ten  sheep 
yards,  each  connected  with  a  shed,  and  well  separated  with  a  good 
fence,  and  water  in  each;  and  fifteen  pastures,  aD  well  walled  or 
fenced.  I  particularly  employ  one  man  about  my  sheep,  and 


4:2  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

effectually  prevented  any  subsequent  admixtures  oi 
blood.  He  bred  his  descendants  of  his  Spanish 
importations  pure  to  the  period  of  his  recent  death.* 
I  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  collect  the 
statistics  of  all  the  different  importations  which 
followed  those  of  Mr.  Jarvis,  and  shall  allude  to  but 
few,  the  facts  concerning  which  appear  to  be  well 
authenticated.  In  a  letter  to  L.  D.  Gregory,  Mr. 
Jarvis  goes  into  some  more  particulars  in  regard  to 
the  later  importations.  He  says  there  were  about 
300  Guadalupes,  and  200  or  300  Paulars  sent  to 
Boston ;  about  2,500  Montarcos  to  Boston,  ISTew 
York,  Providence,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and 
Savannah ;  that  those  shipped  for  Boston  were  for 
the  account  of  Gorham,  Parsons,  General  Sumner,  D. 
Tichenor,  and  E.  H.  Derby;  that  they  were  all 

constantly  give  the  necessary  directions  regarding  them,  which  I, 
personally,  see  are  faithfully  executed.  Usually  in  March  or  April,  I 
myself  select  from  the  preceding  spring  lambs,  the  buck  lambs  I  intend 
for  stock  bucks.  The  flocks  are  separately  washed  and  separately 
sheared;  and  during  the  shearing  process  the  lambs  are  ear-marked 
and  tar-marked;  and  the  old  sheep  are  also  tar-marked  as  fast  as 
sheared.  I  have  been  thus  minute,  to  satisfy  you  of  the  confidence 
and  safety  with  which  I  can  speak  of  the  blood  of  my  sheep. 

"  My  flock  consists  of  about  a  thousand  sheep  of  all  kinds,  of  which 
there  are  one  hundred  and  sixty  Merinos,  the  pure-blooded  descend- 
ants  of  those  I  purchased  in  Spain,  in  1809  and  '10,  and  exported 
from  Lisbon ;  about  one  hundred  full-blood  Saxons ;  and  the  remainder 
are  crossed  between  Saxony  and  Merino.  The  fleeces  of  the  latter 
from  the  attention  I  have  paid  to  the  selection  of  bucks  (as  before 
mentioned),  are  much  heavier  than  in  1832.  The  average  of  the  three 
kinds,  taken  together,  is  now  3  Ibs.  2  oz.  to  3  Ibs.  4  oz.  per  head." 

*  Now  that  he  has  passed  away,  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  of  him, 
that  on  the  score  of  integrity  no  American  breeder's  reputation  ever 
stood  higher.  He  was  emphatically  a  "  gentleman  of  the  old  school,'7 
above  trick,  dissimulation,  or  that  paltry  rcticency  which  has  marked 
so  many  celebrated  breeders  hi  all  countries  of  the  world. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  43 

shipped  in  1809,  1810,  and  the  early  part  of  1811. 
Charles  Henry  Hall,  of  Pomfret,  Connecticut,  (after- 
wards so  well  known  as  a  breeder  of  horses,  cattle, 
&c.,  in  New  York),  who,  I  think,  was  American 
consul  at  Cadiz,  at  the  time  sent  home  about  50 
Merinos  to  his  father,  Dr.  Hall.  "  They  were 
Paulars,  and  good  ones,  too,"  says  a  competent  judge. 
Peck  &  Atwater,  of  New  Haven,  imported  a  cargo 
of  Merinos  into  that  city  in  1810.*  A  cargo  of  Infan- 
tados  went  into  New  London  in  1810  or  1811. 
Abraham  Heaton,  of  New  Haven,  and  an  associate, 
imported  a  cargo  into  that  place.  Mr.  Heaton  writes 
me  (January  29,  1862)  :  "  I  have  no  invoice  of  the 
particular  breed  of  the  sheep  at  this  time,  but  I  think 
I  gave  the  papers  regarding  the  breed,  &c.,  to  Daniel 
Bacon,  of  Woodbury,  of  this  state,  since  dead,  he 
having  been  one  of  the  principal  purchasers.  I  well 
recollect  that  a  part  of  the  cargo  was  composed  of 
what  is  called  the  Guadalupe  breed."  A  cargo  of  fine 
Paulars  went  into  New  York  in  1811. 


*  Mr.  Jacob  N.  Blakeslee,  of  Watertown,  Conn.,  whose  flock  on  the 
maternal  side  is  descended  from  these  sheep,  writes  me,  January  15, 
1862 :  "  I  took  them  of  Captain  Peck,  to  keep  one  year,  for  half  the 
wool,  and  half  the  increase ;  they  were  the  same  he  selected  in  Spain ; 
they  had  the  Spanish  brand  on  the  nose  of  every  sheep ;  he  told  me 
he  selected  them  himself  from  the  flock  of  the  'i)on  Delle  Infandado,' 
which  was  the  best  flock  in  Spain." 

Since  the  preceding  was  written,  I  have  found  a  letter  from  Mr- 
Blakeslee,  in  Appendix  to  Mr.  Morrell's  "American  Shepherd,"  in 
which  he  says :  "  I  began  a  flock  of  sheep,  in  1815,  that  were  imported 
by  Peck  &  Atwater,  of  New  Haven.  A  part  of  them  were  the 
Negretti,  and  a  part  Montarco.  I  let  them  run  together  till  1823." 
There  are  other  conflicts  in  the  statements  of  the  two  letters.  I  men- 
tion it  as  a  lesson  to  a  large  class  of  sheep  breeders,  of  the  impropriety, 
of  relying  solely  on  their  memory  in  regard  to  ancient  pedigrees. 


44  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 


Circumstances  Affecting  their  Success. 

The  earlier  importations  of  Merinos  into  the  United 
States,  as  has  been  already  remarked,  attracted  but 
little  public  notice.  The  woolen  cloths  then  made  in 
the  country  were  mostly  spun  and  woven  in  families. 
The  fine  Merino  wool  was  as  little  adapted  to  the 
instruments  employed,  as  was  so  valuable  a  material 
to  the  cheap,  common  fabrics  worn  by  our  people. 
Both  Livingston  and  Humphreys,  however,  patrioti- 
cally set  the  example  of  attempting  fine  cloth  manu- 
factures, with  the  new  wool ;  and  the  former,  with  his 
usual  energy  as  a  public  improver,  made  and  published 
the  results  of  investigations  and  experiments  on  the 
subject,  which  were  soon  to  prove  of  the  highest  value. 

When  the  great  warlike  struggle  then  shaking 
Europe  led,  in  180T,  to  maritime  regulations — the 
English  Orders  in  Council  and  the  French  Milan 
decree — which  converted  American  commerce  into 
the  mere  prey  of  the  belligerents,  our  government 
made  an  effort  to  save  it  by  laying  an  embargo 
(Dec.  22d)  which  entirely  shut  our  shipping  off  from 
the  ocean.  This  was  succeeded  by  the  non-intercourse 
law,  which  prevented  trade  with  England  and  France. 
France  repealed  her  obnoxious  decrees,  and  trade  was 
restored  with  her,  but  the  continued  attitude  of  Eng- 
land rendered  commerce  with  her  neighbor  precarious. 
A  British  outrage  on  an  American  national  vessel 
(the  Chesapeake)  early  in  1811,  forced  our  country  to 
begin  preparations  for  war.  This  was  declared  in 
1812,  and  continued  until  1815. 

Thus  for  a  period  of  about  eight  years,  our  com- 
merce was"  virtually  suspended  with  those  nations  which 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  45 

had  previously  supplied  us  with  our  woolen  goods, 
and  was  so  interrupted  and  precarious  with  all  others, 
that  the  establishment  of  home  manufactories  and  of 
the  means  of  supplying  them  with  raw  material, 
became  an  object  of  prime  necessity.  Most  fortu- 
nately, the  embargo  was  raised  at  just  the  right 
moment  to  allow  the  sheep,  which  the  situation  of 
Spanish  affairs  threw  in  the  way  of  Mr.  Jarvis  and 
others,  to  be  purchased  and  sent  home. 

At  such  a  juncture,  it  would  be  expected  that  the 
arrival  of  the  Merino  on  our  shores  would  be  hailed 
with  enthusiasm — particularly  when  it  was  learned 
that  we  had  obtained  the  very  best  sheep  of  Spain. 
And,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  spirit  of  speculation 
lent  energy  to  the  movement.  From  $1,000  to  $1,500 
a  head  were  in  many  instances  paid  for  the  imported 
rams,  and  $1,000  a  head  for  the  ewes.  Flocks  of  full 
blood  or  grade  sheep  were  eagerly  commenced  in  all 
parts  of  the  country.  Fine  wool  commanded  such  an 
exorbitant  price  that  it  required  the  utmost  bad  man- 
agement, added  to  the  most  extravagant  original  dis- 
bursement, to  render  the  venture  unprofitable.  As 
early  as  1807  wool  rose  to  a  dollar  a  pound.  In  1809, 
Mr.  Livingston  sold  his  full-blood  Merino  wool, 
unwashed,  for  two  dollars  a  pound !  During  the  war 
with  England  it  rose  to  $2.50. 

State  Encouragement. 

The  Legislature  of  this  state  passed  laws  to  encour- 
age the  manufacture  of  woolen  cloth.  By  the  act  of 
April  8,  1808,  premiums  of  $150,  $75  and  $50  were 
respectively  offered  for  "  the  best  specimens  of  woolen 


4:6  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

cloth,  of  uniform  texture  and  quality,"  "  of  a  breadth 
of  not  less  than  three-quarters  of  a  yard,"  manufac- 
tured within  the  state ;  a  premium  of  $80  to  the  best 
specimen  manufactured  in  a  family  in  each  county  of 
the  state;  and  premiums  of  $150,  $75  and  $50,  in 
plate,  to  the  three  best  of  the  last  named  county 
domestic  specimens  in  the  whole  state.* 

The  act  of  April  5,  1810,  after  declaring  that  "im- 
portant advantages,  materially  connected  with  the 
prosperity  of  the  state,  have  resulted"  from  the  prece- 
ding law,  proceeds  to  amend  it  in  some  particulars 
which  do  not  require  mention.  It  was  again  amended 
in  1812,f  and  the  preamble  of  the  act  declared  that 
"the  rapid  increase  in  the  manufacture  of  woolen 
cloth  within  the  State  of  New  York,  and  the  great 
improvements  in  that  branch  of  national  industry, 
fully  and  satisfactorily  evince  that  the  bounties 
granted  for  that  object  have  been  highly  useful,  and 
that  their  continuance  will  be  eminently  beneficial." 
By  this  law  the  two  principal  state  premiums  were 
paid  only  for  broadcloths. 

It  appears  by  a  report  of  the  State  Comptroller^ 
that  the  sums  paid  out  in  premiums  under  these  laws 
were  as  follows : 


*  To  obtain  the  first  premium  of  $150,  open  to  the  competition  of 
manufactories,  the  specimen  of  cloth  was  required  to  equal  200  yards, 
the  second  150  yards,  and  the  third  100  yards.  The  county  speci- 
mens were  required  to  equal  30  yards.  The  three  first  premiums, 
and  the  plate  for  the  county  specimens,  were  adjudged  by  the  Society 
for  the  Promotion  of  Useful  Arts — the  county  specimens  by  "  a  majcritj 
of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas." 

•j-  Perhaps  technically  they  were  new  acts. 

%  Made  March  5,  1816. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY.  47 

In  1809 $2,770  In  1813 $2,790 

1810 3,490     1814 3,350 

1811 4,095    1815 3,970 

The  law  of  1812  expired  by  its  own  limitation  at  the 
end  of  1815,  and  was  not  renewed.*  The  Council  of 
the-  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Useful  Arts  reported 
through  their  chairman,  in  1815,  that  the  liberal 
bounties  granted  by  the  state,  "  in  combination  with 
other  circumstances,"  had  "contributed  to  raise  in 
many  respects,  the  fine  cloths  of  America  to  a  degree 
of  perfection  equal  to  those  manufactured  in  Europe."f 

State  Manufactures. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  manufacturing  industry  of 
those  days,  I  will  present  the  following  statistics, 
compiled  from  the  census  of  1810.  In  that  year  the 
following  fabrics  were  manufactured'in  New  York : 

Yards.  Value. 

Woolen  goods  made  in  families 3,257,812  $2,850,585 

Cotton          do.                    do 216,013  69,124 

Flaxen         do.                    do 5,372,645  2,014,741 

*  I  think  the  state  defrayed  no  more  money  in  premiums  until  the 
establishment  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture  in  1819,  and  then  it 
divided  10,000  among  the  counties,  to  be  paid  out  in  various  kinds  of 
agricultural,  &c.,  premiums. 

•j-  The  chairman  of  the  council  was  E.  0.  Genet,  the  famous  minister 
of  republican  France,  who  produced  such  a  commotion  during  General 
Washington's  administration.  He  had  settled  down  near  Albany,  in 
this  state,  married  a  daughter  of  Gov.  George  Clinton,  and  was  an  op- 
ulent and  public-spirited  citizen.  The  report  has  one  or  two  charac- 
teristic touches.  It  is  not  complimentary  to  the  commercial  restrictions 
of  the  two  last  administrations,  and  has  a  sly  stroke  at  the  "  Philoso- 
phers!" It  is  decidedly  severe  on  duties  intended  "to  check  the 
importation  of  foreign  manufactures"  and  "  other  disguised  attempts 
at  monopoly  I"  ' 


48  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

Yards.  Value. 

Blended  and  unnamed  cloths  and  stuffs  mado 

in  families 180,659  63,230 

Tow  clothmade  in  families 21,721  6,516 

There  were  33,068  looms,  413  carding  machines, 
427  fulling  mills,  and  26  cotton  manufacturing 
establishments.  I  am  not  aware  that  there  was  a 
woolen  manufactory  in  the  state. 

Effect  of  Peace  of  1815  on  Product  and  Manufacture 
of  Wool. 

The  Peace  of  Ghent,  and  the  liberation  of  com- 
merce which  followed,  exposed  our  infant  manufac- 
tures, and  our  wool  growing,  to  the  competition  of  the 
world.  The  exhaustion  and  derangement  of  our 
finances  assisted  in  their  overthrow.  The  revulsion 
from  war  prices  to  peace  prices,  in  almost  every  thing, 
was  enormous,  and  it  carried  bankruptcy  into  every 
department  of  business,  and  mourning  into  every 
neighborhood  of  the  land.  Our  manufactories  per- 
ished. Merinos,  which  were  valued  at  $1,000  a  head 
in  1809,  sold  for  a  dollar  a  head  in  1815.*  Specula- 
ting holders  ceased,  of  course,  to  take  any  interest  in 
them.  Multitudes  abandoned  wool-growing  alto- 
gether. Careless  owners  no  longer  paid  any  atten- 
tion to  preserving  purity  of  blood.  But  the  "  most 
unkindest  cut  of  all"  that  I  ever  heard  of  their  re- 
ceiving was  the  fear  expressed,  by  an  agricultural 
writer  of  that  period  residing  in  one  of  our  northeast- 

*  The  well-known  G-.  "W.  Featherstonhaugh,  one  of  our  most  active 
agricultural  improvers,  and  himself  a  breeder  of  Merinos,  states  ex- 
pressly that  he  had  seen  such  shjeep  so  sold.  I  have  the  same  fact 
from  other  reliable  sources.  (See  Featherstonhaugh' s  Letter  to  Stephen 
Van  Kensselaer,  on  Sheep  Husbandry,  &c.,  Memoirs  of  the  N.  Y.  Board 
of  Agriculture,  vol.  ii,  page  138). 


FINE   WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  4:9 

era  counties,  "  that  there  was  danger  of  the  Merinos 
running  out  the  native  sheep." 

United  States  Tariff  Laws, 

In  1816  a  tariff  law  was  enacted  by  the  Federal 
Government*  which  imposed  a  duty  of  fifteen  per 
centum,  ad  valorem,  on  wool,  and  twenty-five  per 
centum,  ad  valorem,  on  woolen  manufactures,  f  The 
duty  on  the  latter  was  to  be  reduced  to  twenty  per 
centum  after  the  expiration  of  three  years. 

This,  as  wrould  be  expected,  produced  no  effect  in 
favor  of  the  growth  of  fine  wools.  There  was  little 
domestic  demand  for  them.  The  Merinos  continued 
without  any  considerable  marketable  value  until  1824. 
They  became  completely  lost  to  public  notice,  and 

*0f  the  preceding  general  tariffs,  that  of  1789  imposed  a  duty  of 
five  per  cent,  ad  valorem  on  woolens,  and  made  all  wools  free  of  duty. 
The  tariff  of  1790  re-enacted  the  same  provisions,  and  imposed  a  duty 
of  seven  and  a  half  per  cent,  ad  valorem  on  carpets,  carpeting,  and 
wool  hats.  The  tariff  of  1792  again  made  wool  free  of  duty,  and  im- 
posed a  duty  of  five  per  cent,  ad  valorem  on  woolens,  except  on  car- 
pets, stockings,  mittens  and  hats,  on  which  it  imposed  a  duty  of  ten 
ditto.  The  tariff  of  1794  raised  the  duty  on  carpets,  stockings,  mit- 
tens, and  wool  hats  to  fifteen  per  cent,  ad  valorem ;  imposed  a  duty  of 
ten  ditto  on  ready-made  clothing,  and  also  on  "  all  goods,  wares,  and 
merchandise  not  otherwise  enumerated  or  described."  This  provision 
included  wool  The  tariff  of  1800  made  no  changes  in  the  rates  of 
duty  on  woolens,  but  raised  the  duty  on  the  non-enumerated  articles 
(including  wool)  paying  a  duty  of  ten  per  cent,  under  preceding  law, 
to  twelve  and  a  half  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  The  tariff  of  1804  (to  raise 
Mediterranean  fund)  added  two  and  a  half  per  cent,  to  all  existing  ad 
valorem  duties.  The  tariff  of  1812  doubled  all  permanent  duties  before 
imposed  by  law,  This  was  followed  by  the  tariff  of  1816. 

f  Except  on  wool  hats,  caps  and  clothing,  which  paid  a  duty  of 
thirty  per  cent,  ad  valorem ;  stockings  twenty  ditto ;  blankets,  nigs, 
worsted  goods,  and  stuff  goods  fifteen  ditto ;  yarn  four  cents  per  pound. 

3 


50  FINE   WOOL   SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

there  was  many  a  choice  flock  of  which  no  trace  can 
now  be  found. 

In  1824  a  tariff  was  enacted  which  imposed  a  duty 
of  fifteen  per  centum,  ad  valorem,  on  wools  costing 
less  than  ten  cents  per  pound  at  the  place  of  export ; 
twenty  per  centum  on  those  costing  more,  until  June 
1,  1825 ;  twenty-five  per  centum  from  that  date  to 
June  1, 1826  ;  and  thirty  per  centum  afterwards.  On 
manufactures  of  wool*  it  imposed  a  duty  of  thirty  per 
centum  until  June  30, 1825,  and  thirty-three  and  one- 
third  per  centum  afterwards. 

The  decided  protection  thus  afforded  to  wool  and 
its  fabrics,  conspired,  with  other  circumstances,  again 
to  turn  the  attention  of  farmers  to  the  production  of 
that  staple.  Among  these  auxiliary  circumstances  is 
to  be  mentioned  the  arrival  of  Saxon  sheep  in  our 
country.  The  most  extravagant  ideas  were  formed  of 
their  value.  The  country,  after  so  long  a  rest,  was 
ready  for  another  wool  mania,  and  it  set  in. 

Introduction  of  Saxon  Merinos. 

The  following  statement  of  the  Saxon  importations 
was  embodied  in  that  report  on  sheep  which,  as  already 
mentioned,  I  made  to  the  State  Agricultural  Society 
in  1838.  The  facts  were  furnished  by  one  of  the 
members  of  the  committee,  the  late  Henry  D.  Grove, 
of  Hoosic.f 

*  There  were  some  exceptions.  On  blankets,  worsted  stuff  goods, 
and  woolens  not  exceeding  thirty -three  and  one-third  cents  a  yard,  the 
duty  was  twenty-five  per  cent. ;  and  on  carpets  a  specific  duty  of  fifty 
cents  a  square  yard. 

f  This  gentleman  was  born  and  educated  to  the  duties  of  a  shepherd 
and  flockmaster,  in  Prussian  Saxony ;  and  I  am  sure  I  shall  give  no 
offence  in  expressing  the  opinion  that  he  was  the  best  practical  shep- 


FINE   WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  51 

"  The  first  importation  of  Saxony  sheep  into  the 
United  States  was  made  by  Mr.  Samuel  Henshaw,  a 
merchant  of  Boston,  at  the  instance  of  Colonel  James 
Shephard,  of  Northampton.  They  were  but  six  or 
seven  in  number.  In  1824  Messrs  G.  &  T.  Searle,  of 
Boston,  imported  seventy-seven  Saxon  sheep.  They 
were  selected  and  purchased  by  a  Mr.  Kretchman,  a 
correspondent  of  the  above  firm,  residing  in  Leipsic, 
and  shipped  at  Bremen  on  board  the  American 
schooner  Yelocity.  I  was  engaged  to  take  charge  of 
the  sheep  on  the  passage,  and  I  also  shipped  six  on 
my  own  account.  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  as  many  as 
one-third  of  the  sheep  purchased  by  Kretchman  (who 
shared  profit  and  loss  in  the  undertaking)  were  not 
pure-blooded  sheep.  The  cargo  was  sold  at  auction 
at  Brooklyn,  as  '  pure-blooded  Electoral  Saxons,'  and 
thus  unfortunately  in  the  very  outset  the  pure  and 
impure  became  irrevocably  mixed.  But  I  feel  the 
greatest  certainty  that  the  Messrs.  Searle  intended  to 
import  none  but  the  pure  stock.  The  fault  lay  with 
Kretchman.  In  the  fall  of  1824,  I  entered  into  an 
arrangement  with  the  Messrs.  Searle  to  return  to 
Saxony,  and  purchase,  in  connection  with  Kretchman, 
from  160  to  200  Electoral  sheep.  I  was  detained  at 
sea  seven  weeks,  which  gave  rise  to  the  belief  that  I 
was  shipwrecked  and  lost.  "When  I  finally  arrived, 
the  sheep  had  been  already  bought  by  Kretchman. 
On  being  informed  of  what  the  purchase  consisted,  I 
protested  against  taking  them  to  America,  and  insisted 


herd  of  his  day  in  our  country.  Mr.  Grove  was  an  ardent,  decided 
man,  prejudiced  by  early  associations  for  the  favorite  sheep  of  his 
native  country,  and  by  the  fact  that  his  own  skill  produced  exceptional 
results  in  their  favor,  and  thus  gave  them  an  entire  advantage  when 
brought  into  comparison  with  rival  varieties  or  flocks  which  were  less 
perfectly  managed.  But  where  he  states  any  fact  on  his  own  knowl- 
edge, it  can  always  be  implicitly  relied  on.  The  German  fatherland 
never  sent  out  a  more  incorruptible  son. 


52  FINE   WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

on  a  better  selection,  but  to  no  purpose.  A  quarrel 
ensued  between  us,  and  Kretchman  even  went  so  far 
as  to  engage  another  to  take  charge  of  the  sheep  on 
their  passage.  My  friends  interposing,  I  was  finally 
induced  to  take  charge  of  them.  The  number  shipped 
was  167,  fifteen  of  which  perished  on  the  passage. 
They  were  sold  at  Brighton,  some  of  them  going  as 
high  as  $400  to  $450.  A  portion  of  this  importation 
consisted  of  grade  sheep,  which  sold  as  high  as  the 
pure  floods,  for  the  American  purchasers  could  not 
know  the  difference.  It  may  be  readily  imagined 
what  an  inducement  the  Brighton  sale  held  out  to 
speculation,  both  in  this  country  and  Saxony.  The 
German  newspapers  teemed  with  advertisements  of 
sheep  for  sale,  headed  '  Good  for  the  American  mar- 
ket ;'  and  these  sheep,  in  many  instances,  were  actually 
bought  up  for  the  American  market  at  five,  eight,  or 
ten  dollars  a  head,  when  the  pure  bloods  could  not 
be  purchased  at  from  less  than  thirty  to  forty  dol- 
lars. In  1836,  Messrs.  Searle  imported  three  cargoes, 
amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  513  sheep.  They  were 
about  of  the  same  character  with  their  prior  importa- 
tions ;.  in  the  main  good,  but  mixed  with  some  grade 
sheep.  On  the  same  year  a  cargo  of  221  arrived,  on 
German  account,  Emil  Bach,  of  Leipsic,  supercargo. 
A  few  were  good  sheep  and  of  pure  blood ;  but  taken 
as  a  lot  they  were  miserable.  The  owners  sunk  about 
$3,000.  Next  came  a  cargo  of  210,  on  German  ac- 
count, Wasmuss  and  Multer  owners.  The  whole  cost 
of  these  was  about  $1,125  in  Germany.  With  the 
exception  of  a  small  number,  procured  to  make  a 
nourish  on  in  their  advertisements  of  sale,  they  were 
sheep  having  no  pretensions  to  purity  of  blood.  In 
1827,  the  same  individuals  brought  out  another  cargo. 
These  were  selected  exclusively  from  grade  flocks  of  a 
low  character.  On  the  same  year  the  Messrs.  Searle 
made  their  last  importation,  consisting  of  182  sheep. 
Of  these  I  know  little.  My  friends  in  Germany  wrote 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  53 

me  that  they  were  like  their  other  importations,  a 
mixture  of  pure  and  impure  blooded  sheep.  It  is  due, 
however,  to  the  Messrs.  Searle  to  say.  that  as  a  whole, 
their  importations  were  much  better  than  any  other 
made  into  Boston. 

"  I  will  now  turn  your  attention  to  the  importations 
made  into  other  ports.  In  1825,  thirteen  Saxons 
arrived  in  Portsmouth.  They  were  miserable  crea- 
tures. In  1826,  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  sheep 
arrived  in  New  York,  per  brig  William,  on  German 
account.  A  portion  of  these  were  well  descended  and 
valuable  animals.  The  rest  were  grade  sheep.  In  June, 
the  same  year,  the  brig  Louisa  brought  out  one  hundred 
and  seventy-three,  on  German  account.  Not  more 
than  one-third  of  them  had  the  least  pretensions  to 
purity  of  blood.  Next  we  find  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight,  shipped  at  Bremen,  on  German  account.  Some 
were  diseased  before  they  left  Bremen,  and  I  am 
happy  to  state  that  twenty-two  died  before  their 
arrival  in  New  York.  All  I  intend  to  say  of  them 
is,  that  they  were  a  most  curious  and  motley  mess  of 
wretched  animals.  The  next  cargo  imported  arrived 
in  the  brig  Maria  Elizabeth,  under  my  own  care. 
They  were  165  in  number,  belonging  to  myself  and 
F.  Gebhard,  of  New  York.  These  sheep  cost  me  $65 
a  head  when  landed  in  New  York.  They  sold  at  an 
average  of  $50  a  head,  thus  sinking  about  $2,400  !  I 
need  not  say  that  they  were  exclusively  of  pure  blood. 
A  cargo  of  eighty-one  arrived  soon  after,  but  I  know 
nothing  of  their  quality.  The  next  importation  con- 
sisted of  one  hundred  and  eighty-four,  on  German 
account,  per  brig  Warren.  With  a  few  exceptions 
they  were  pure  blooded  and  good  sheep.  We  next 
have  an  importation  of  two  hundred  by  the  Bremen 
ship  Louisa.  They  were  commonly  called  the  'stop 
sale  sheep.'  They  were  of  the  most  miserable  char- 
acter, some  of  them  being  hardly  half  grade  sheep. 
The  ship  Phebe  Ann  brought  one  hundred  and  twenty 


54:  FINE   WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

sheep,  of  which.  I  know  little ;  and  sixty  were  landed 
at  Philadelphia,  with  the  character  of  which  I  am 
unacquainted.  Having  determined  to  settle  in  Amer- 
ica, I  returned  to  Saxony,  and  spent  the  winter  of 
1826-'27  in  visiting  and  examining  many  flocks.  I 
selected  one  hundred  and  fifteen  from  the  celebrated 
flock  of  Macherns,  embarked  on  board  the  ship 
Albion,  and  landed  in  JSTew  York  June  27,  1827.  In 
1828  I  received  eighty  more  from  the  same  flock, 
selected  by  a  friend  of  mine,  an  excellent  judge  of 
sheep.  I  first  drove  them  to  Shaftesbury,  adjoining 
the  town  of  Hoosic,  where  I  now  reside.  On  their 
arrival  they  stood  me  in  $70  a  head,  and  the  lambs 
half  that  sum." 

The  fires  of  speculation  might  have  died  out  and  a 
reaction  ensued,  when  the  unsuitableness  of  these 
sheep  for  our  climate  and  systems  of  husbandry 
became  apparent,  had  any  time  been  given  for  cool 
reflection.  But  the  year  1825  brought  another  of 
those  pecuniary  revulsions  which  periodically  sweep 
like  desolating  tornadoes  over  our  country.  This  is 
not  the  place  to  investigate  its  causes.  The  friends 
of  the  "  American  System,"  as  the  friends  of  high 
protective  tariffs  were  then  called,  attributed  it  to  our 
excessive  importations  from  Europe,  and  these  views 
prevailed  so  far  that  the  tariff  of  1828  was  enacted. 

F.  S,  Tariff  Laws  since  1824, 

The  tariff  of  1828  imposed  a  specific  duty  on  wool 
of  four  cents  per  pound,  and  in  addition  thereto  an 
ad  valorem  duty  of  40  per  cent,  until  30th  of  June, 
1829,  when  an  additional  duty  of  five  per  centum 
was  to  be  added,  and  that  amount  annually,  till  the 
additional  duty  ad  valorem  amounted  to  50  per  cent- 


FINE    WOOL,    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  55 

um :  on  manufactures  of  which  wool  formed  a  com- 
ponent part,*  an  ad  valorem  duty  of  40  per  centum 
until  June  30,  1829,  afterwards  45  per  centum;  on 
manufactures  of  wool  which  exceeded  $4  the  square 
yard,  45  per  centum  until  June  30,  1829,  and  after- 
wards 50  per  centum  :  on  manufactures  of  wool  (ex- 
cept flannels  and  baizes)  not  exceeding  33^  cents,  14 
cents  per  square  yard :  on  blankets,  hosiery,  ready- 
made  clothing,  etc.,  35  per  centum  :  on  the  three  most 
valuable  kinds  of  carpets,  70  cents  per  square  yard ; 
the  two  next  best  kinds  40  cents ;  the  lower  grades 
32  cents.  And  the  principle  of  minimums  was  now 
first  applied  to  woolen  tariffs,  practically  to  increase 
the  duties  on  the  cheaper  imported  fabrics.  Thus 
those  not  exceeding  50  cents  per  square  yard  were 
deemed  to  cost  50  cents  ;f  those  exceeding  50  cents 
and  not  exceeding  $1,  were  deemed  to  cost  $1 ;  those 
exceeding  $1  and  not  exceeding  $2.50,  were  deemed 
to  cost  $2.50  ;  those  exceeding  $2.50  and  not  exceed- 
ing $4,  were  deemed  to  cost  $4. 

The  events,  in  manufacturing  and  wool  growing 
circles,  which  followed  the  tariff  of  1828,  may  not 
have  been  solely  due  to  that  law.  However  this  may 
be,  the  facts  themselves  admit  of  no  dispute.  Both 
the  manufacturers  and  producers  were  excited  beyond 
the  bounds  of  sober  reason. 

The  scenes  exhibited  among  the  latter  would  be 
remembered  with  amusement,  had  not  the  results 
proved  so  injurious  to  public  and  private  interests. 
Intelligent  and  enterprising  farmers  pulled  down 

*  Excepting  carpetings,  blankets,  worsted  stuff  goods,  bombazines, 
hosiery,  mitts,  gloves,  caps,  and  bindings. 

•j-  With  the  exceptions  expressed  in  preceding  note. 


56  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

their  barns  to  build  greater,  or,  at  least,  made  the 
most  costly  preparations  for  growing  wool,  and  then 
sent  one  hundred  or  one  thousand  miles  to  purchase 
Saxon  sheep  at  $100  or  $500  a  head.  When  the 
prodigies  arrived,  with  what  a  blank  look  the  propri- 
etor, and  with  what  an  irrepressible  titter  the  farm 
laborers,  first  surveyed  the  little  strangers !  If  they 
had  been  exposed  to  storms  and  hardships  on  their 
journey,  they  did  indeed  present  a  very  disconsolate 
appearance. 

But  who  can  see  through  the  folly  of  his  times  ? 
The  public  were  in  the  midst  of  a  fine-wool  cyclone. 
The  manufacturer  and  producer  talked  of  the  ex- 
quisite fineness  of  this  or  that  clip — but  whether  the 
sheep  which  bore  it  yielded  much  or  little,  had  good 
or  bad  carcasses,  were  hardy  or  feeble,  was  scarcely  a 
matter  of  thought.  Enormously  exaggerated  expec- 
tations of  the  future  demand  for  Saxon  wool  were  en- 
tertained ;  it  was  to  increase  with  our  increasing  popu- 
lation ;  the  tariff  was  to  raise  prices  to  the  highest 
pitch ;  and  then  the  tariff  and  the  high  prices  were 
to  stand  for  generations,  if  not  forever.  Aladdin's 
lamp  was  plainly  discovered ! 

It  is  remarkable  that  this  Saxon  mania  had  so  little 
effect,  comparatively,  on  the  estimated  value  of  the 
descendants  of  the  Spanish  Merino  in  our  country. 
They  rose  in  value ;  but  their  chief  value  appeared 
to  be  considered  as  resting  on  the  fact  that  they  would 
grade  up  more  rapidly  than  common  sheep  toward  the 
Saxon  standard  of  fineness — in  other  words,  make 
a  better  cross  with  the  Saxon  !  The  idea  that  they 
had  a  separate  value,  approaching  that  of  the  latter, 
appears  to  have  entered  nobody's  mind.  Yet  at  that 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  57 

very  time  the  average  of  Saxon  wool  was  not  ten  cents 
higher  a  pound  than  Spanish,  and  the  product  of  a 
Spanish  sheep  was  worth  more  in  market  than  the 
product  of  a  Saxon  sheep.  Even  the  prices  of  fine 
wool  did  not  rise  until  near  the  close  of  1830.  Amer- 
ican producers  of  very  fine  wool  have  ever  fed  on  ex- 
pectation, but  never  attained  the  fruition  of  their 
hopes.* 

I  will  now  trace  down  an  account  of  the  subsequent 
tariffs,  in  connection,  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  a 
comparison  of  their  provisions  more  convenient. 

The  tariff  of  1828  produced  a  vast  annual  surplus 
of  revenue  over  the  expenditures  of  the  government, 
and  furnished  means  for  a  rapid  extinction  of  the 
public  debt.  But  the  latter  would  be  soon  paid ;  the 
discontents  of  a  portion  of  our  people  against  the 
duties  imposed  by  the  law,  were  loudly  expressed ;  and 
a  change  was  felt  to  be  necessary.  This  was  made  by 
the  tariff  of  1832. 

This  made  wools  not  exceeding  eight  cents  per  pound 
in  value  at  the  place  of  export,f  duty  free ;  and  im- 

*  I  trust  no  former  breeder  of  the  Saxons  will  complain  of  the  tone 
of  these  remarks,  when  I  say,  "  quorum  pars  fui."  I  was  the 
owner  of  sheep  before  I  was  a  year  old,  and  have  remained  so  since. 
Thirty -two  years  ago  I  became  the  owner  of  a  pure  Spanish  flock. 
Subsequently  I  purchased  some  Saxons,  and  was  so  gratified  with  the 
produce  of  a  few  picked  sheep,  that  I  bought  and  bred  a  flock 
usually  numbering  from  500  to  700.  They  were  derived  from  the 
most  celebrated  flocks.  I  kept  them  several  years,  and  gave  them  a 
fair  trial  before  going  back  to  the  Spanish  Merinos,  which,  very 
fortunately  for  myself,  I  had  never  entirely  abandoned. 

f  The  bill  provided  that  if  wools  were  mixed  with  dirt  or  other 
material  to  reduce  its  value  to  eight  cents,  the  appraisers  should  ap- 
praise it  at  such  price  "  as  in  their  opinion  it  would  have  cost  had  it 
not  been  so  mixed." 
3* 


58  FINE   WOOL   8IIKEP    HUSBANDRY. 

posed  a  duty  on  those  exceeding  that  value,  of  four 
cents  per  pound  and  40  per  centum  ad  valorem  ;  cloths 
not  exceeding  35  cents  per  square  yard,  were  to  pay 
an  ad  valorem  duty  of  five  per  centum,  others  50  per 
centum ;  shawls  and  ready-made  clothing  50  per  cen- 
tum ;  carpeting  63  and  35  cents  per  square  yard  ; 
flannels,  baizes,  &c.,  16  cents  per  square  yard;  various 
minor  articles  from  10  to  25  per  centum. 

This  was  a  period  of  great  inflation  in  the  currency, 
and  the  proceeds  of  the  immense  sales  of  the  public 
lands,  together  with  the  revenue  collected,  were  still 
found  greatly  to  exceed  the  wants  of  the  government. 
This  and  the  "  nullification"  of  South  Carolina  led 
to  the  passage  of  what  was  termed  the  "  compromise 
tariif"  of  1833. 

The  tariff  of  1833  commenced  a  system  of  progres- 
sive reductions  in  duties  exceeding  20  per  centum  ad 
valorem,  as  follows :  The  reduction  of  one-tenth  of 
such  excess  was  to  take  place  December  31,  1833,  and 
a  tenth  of  the  residue  of  the  excess  at  the  same  date 
each  second  year  until  1841,  when  half  the  residue 
was  to  be  deducted,  and  the  other  half  on  the  30th 
day  of  June  following.  The  free  wools  (costing  less 
than  eight  cents  a  pound)  were  to  pay  a  duty  of  20 
per  centum  in  1842  and  afterwards.  The  cloths  which 
had  paid  five  per  centum  (those  costing  not  to  exceed 
35  cents  a  square  yard)  were  immediately  to  pay  50 
per  centum,  and  then  suffer  the  same  biennial  reduc- 
tion in  duties  with  the  others. 

From  1833  to  1837  the  plethora  in  the  money  mar- 
ket continued  and  increased.  Imports  became  enor- 
mous— vastly  exceeding  those  of  any  preceding  period. 
They  culminated  in  1836.  The  following  figures  in 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  59 

respects  to  manufactured  textiles  alone,  willo  xpross  the 
increase  more  readily  than  it  can  be  done  in  words : 

lui|M.ii;.  Woolonu.        Cottons.  SIlkH.      Linen  A  Flu?:.      Tlcirii). 

'JK8'2 $i),W)'2,424  •      JMO,:!!HM>W         $!t,'.MS,HI>7       $4,078, 1  I'd         $1640,918 

188C. 21,080,008  17,870,087        VJ2,!»SO,'2-1!4         9,807,408          8,80r>,897 

In  many  other  articles  the  gain  was  proportionable. 
In  the  single  one  of  sugar,  the  advance,  during  the 
same  period,  in  the  value  of  the  import  was  from  two 
to  twelve  millions  of  dollars.  The  aggregate  value 
of  imports  in  1836  was  $189,980,035 ;  the  aggregate 
duties  $30,991,510 ;  and  the  average  per  centum  of 
duties  on  imports  16fYtfV-  The  sales  of  the  public  lands 
went  on.  The  gradual  reduction  of  the  tariff1  of  1833 
did  not,  therefore,  bring  down  the  public  revenues  to 
the  scale  of  expenditure,  and  a  surplus  of  twenty- 
eight  millions  of  dollars  accumulated  and  was  depos- 
ited with  the  states. 

An  exigency,  however,  was  approaching,  which 
rendered  it  necessary  to  increase  the  duty  on  imports. 
The  pecuniary  revulsion  of  1837  fell  upon  the 
country.  In  that  year  the  imports  of  woolens  sunk 
to  $8,500,292,  and  in  the  succeeding  year  it  rose  to 
only  $11,512,920.  Other  imports  decreased  in  a 
somewhat  corresponding  ratio.  The  sale  of  public 
lands  fell  off.  The  government  debts  were  increasing, 
and  all  saw  that  under  the  pressure  of  the  times,  the 
manufacturers  could  not  possibly  sustain  themselves 
under  the  minimum  of  protection  to  be  reached  by 
the  "  compromise  tariff."  This  led  to  the  tariffs  of 
1841  and  1842,  and  to  the  changes  they  made  in  the 
duties  on  wool  and  woolens.' 

The  one  year  tariff  of  1841  left  the  20  p»er  centum 
duties  on  woolens  undisturbed,  but  struck  out  the 


60  FINE   WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

20  per  centum  duties  on  wools  not  exceeding  eight 
cents  in  value  at  the  place  of  exportation. 

The  tariff  of  1842  imposed  a  duty  of  five  per  centum 
ad  valorem  on  wools  costing  seven  cents  and  under, 
and  raised  it  on  higher  wools  to  30  per  centum  ad 
valorem  and  three  cents  per  pound  specific  duty ;  on 
manufactures  of  wool,  except  on  carpets,  &c.,  40  per 
centum  ad  valorem ;  on  carpets  of  different  qualities 
respectively  65,  55,  and  30  cents  per  square  yard,  and 
on  lower  grades  30  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  on  other 
woolen  articles  duties  ranging  from  15  to  35  per 
centum.* 

The  tariff  of  1846  established  an  even  ad  valorem 
duty  of  30  per  centum  on  all  wools  and  on  cloths,  f 
Under  its  operation  many  of  the  principal  woolen 
manufactories  of  the  United  States  failed,  and  the 
manufacture  of  broadcloth  was  entirely  broken  up. 

The  tariff  of  1857  made  all  wools  costing  20  cents 
or  less,  free  of  duty,  and  lowered  the  duties  on  other 
wools  to  24  per  centum  ad  valorem.  The  duty  on 
the  principal  manufactures  of  wool  was  also  lowered 
to  24  per  centum  ad  valorem 4 

*  Blankets  not  exceeding  75  cents  each,  15  per  centum  ad  valorem; 
all  others,  25  ditto;  worsted  not  otherwise  specified,  30  ditto ;  hearth- 
rugs 40  ditto ;  yarn,  mitts,  gloves,  caps,  binding,  and  hosiery,  30  ditto ; 
coach  laces,  35  ditto;  flannels,  bookings,  and  baizes,  14  cents  per 
square  yard. 

f  On  carpets  of  wool  of  all  kinds,  ready-made  clothing,  caps, 
gloves,  leggings,  mitts,  socks,  stockings,  wove  shirts,  drawers,  etc.,  not 
otherwise  provided  for,  the  duty  was  30  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  011 
manufactures,  wholly  or  in  part  worsted,  woolen  and  worsted  yarn, 
baizes,  bookings,  flannels,  and  floor  cloths,  25  per  centum  ad  valorem; 
on  blankets  of  all  kinds,  hats,  hat-bodies,  and  woolen  listings,  20  per 
centum  ad  valorem. 

|  On  cloths,  carpets,  delaines,  ready-made  clothing,  rugs,  &c.,  24  per 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  61 

The  tariff  of  1861  places  the  duty  on  wools  costing 
less  than  18  cents,  five  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  on 
wools  exceeding  18  cents  and  not  exceeding  24  cents, 
a  specific  duty  of  three  cents  per  pound;  on  wools 
exceeding  24  cents,  a  specific  duty  of  nine  cents  per 
pound ;  on  woolen  cloths,  shawls  and  manufactures 
of  every  description,  wholly  or  in  part  wool,  not 
otherwise  provided  for,  a  duty  of  12  cents  per  pound, 
and  twenty-five  per  centum  ad  valorem;  on  the 
various  descriptions  of  carpets,  25,  30, 40,  and  50  cents 
per  square  yard ;  on  shawls,  of  which  wool  is  the 
chief  component,  16  cents  per  pound  and  20  per 
centum  ad  valorem ;  on  blankets,  wholly  or  in  part 
wool,  of  different  values,  respectively  6  cents  per 
pound  and  10  per  centum  ad  valorem,  6  cents  per 
pound  and  25  per  centum  ad  valorem,  and  12  cents, 
per  pound  and  20  per  centum  ad  valorem ;  on  delaines, 
cashmere,  etc.,  wholly  or  part  wool,  gray  or  uncolored, 
and  other  gray  and  uncolored  goods  of  similar  descrip- 
tion, 25  per  centum  ad  valorem.  This  bill  contains 
so  many  provisions  that  no  analysis  of  them  can  be 
presented  here  without  consuming  too  much  space. 
I  have  made  out  a  table  of  them,  which  I  will  sub- 
join in  Appendix  A. 

Prices  of  Wool  Since  1824, 

The  following  table  of  the  prices  of  wool  in  Boston, 
for  thirty-eight  years,  was  prepared,  at  my  request, 
by  George  Livermore,  Esq.,  the  eminent  wool 
commission  merchant  of  that  city,  whose  name  is  an 

centum  ad  valorem;  on  worsteds,  yarns,  baizes,  bookings,  flannels, 
floor  cloths,  &c.,  19  ditto;  on  ail  blankets,  wool  hats,  &c.,  15  ditto. 


62  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

ample  guarantee  of  its  entire  accuracy.  It  is  un- 
doubtedly the  most  extended  list  of  wool  prices  w^hich 
has  ever  been  made  out  in  our  country  from  reliable 
data.  The  average,  and  not  the  extreme  prices,  for 
each  quarter  are  given. 

I  have  added  a  column,  indicating  the  tariff  laws 
in  force  at  the  different  periods. 

Let  me  preface  the  table  by  stating  that  I  learn 
from  various  sources  that  from  1800  to  1807  wool 
bore  a  low  and  mostly  a  nominal  price  in  our  coun- 
try ;  that  in  1807  and  1808  full-blood  Merino  wool 
was  worth  about  $1  a  pound  ;*  that  it  advanced  in 
1809  to  about  $2  a  pound,f  and  continued  at  not  far 
from  that  price  during  the  war,  some  selling  at  $2.50 
a  pound ;  that  in  1815  it  again  sunk  to  a  low  price, 
and  so  remained  until  1824. 

*  Colonel  Humphreys,  in  a  MS.  letter  lying  "before  me,  says  that  he 
sold  for  that  price  in  1807. 

f  In  1809  Chancellor  Livingston  sold  his  unwashed  full-blood  wool 
for  $2.00;  seven-eighths  blood  for  $1.50;  three-fourths  for  $1.25; 
one-half  blood  for  75  cents  ;  common  for  37£  cents. 

PRICES  CURRENT  OF  WOOL  IN  BOSTON. 


Tariff  and 
time  of  taking 
effect 

Year.                         Quarter  ending* 
1824.  January  

Fine. 

Medium. 

Coarse. 

March     

70 

45 

33 

June  30 

July 

October 

60 

40 

30 

1825.  January  

60 

45 

83 

April 

July 

October  

(5 

1826.  January                 

TH 

April 

52 

45 

40 

'o 

87 

30 

27 

to 

October  

44 

88 

83 

1827.  January                                 .... 

37 

33 

28 

H 

April 

44 

36 

80 

July  

36 

31 

26 

October... 

42 

32 

25 

*  The  prices,  it  will  be  observed,  arc  not  given  strictly  by  quarters  in  the  table 
anterior  to  1827. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 


63 


Tariff  and 
time  of  taking 
effect 

September  1. 

.     '             ?- 

s 

March  3. 

# 

*-. 

si 

December  31. 

1 

S. 
October  1.    , 

H 

August  80. 

Tear.                       Quarter  ending 

Fine. 
40 

Medium. 
80 
86 
40 
40 
45 
85 
85 
31 
85 
38 
50 
60 
60 
60 
68 
60 
55 
50 
40 
40 

Coarse. 
25 
28 
33 
31 
85 
30 
80 
27 
30 
32 
40 
47 
47 
50 
50 
50 
45 
40 
30 
80 

April                    

44 

July                              ..  . 

48 

October  

47 

1829    January                   

55 
43 

April 

July          

45 

October      

88 

40 

April 

48 

July               

62 

October                  

70 

70 

April  

70 

July                        

75 

October 

70 

65 

>        '  April      .            

60 

July                                .  . 

50 

October 

50 

April 

July    .'.  

62 

55 
55 
60 
55 

50 
50 
50 
58 
58 
58 
58 
58 
60 
60 
60 
60 

42 
45 
47 
42 
40 
40 
40 
45 
45 
45 
45 
45 
50 
50 
50 
50 

October             

65 

70 

'  1834.   January 

April 

65 

July               

60 

October 

60 

60 

April     . 

65 

July                                     

65 

65 

65 

April                                  

65 

July 

70 

October  

70 

70 

April 

70 

July 

October                                .... 

50 
50 
50 

40 
42 
42 
37 
48 
48 
48 
50 
52 
45 
41 
88 
88 
45 
45 
44 
41 
43 
42 
88 
81 
80 
29 

S3 
85 
35 
82 
37 
38 
88 
40 
46 
88 
36 
33 
33 
31 
87 
85 
83 
35 
88 
81 
26 
25 
25 

April               

July                       

45 

October 

55 

1839.   January    

55 

April                   

55 

July                                     

58' 

60 

1840    January             

50 

April                                

48 

July 

46 

October        

46 

1841    January                        

52 

April 

52 

July                                 

50 

October                .         

48 

1842.  January    

48 

April     

46 

July                                   

43 

87 

1848.  January  

85 

April... 

34 

FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 


Tariff  and 
time  of  taking 
effect. 

Year.                        Quarter  ending 
July  

Fine. 

35 

Medium. 

30 

Coarse. 
26 

October  

36 

32 

26 

"         c=i 

1844.   January  

37 

31 

26 

oS 

April  

45 

87 

30 

r-l 

July  .  .   . 

45 

37 

31 

*0 

October  

50 

42 

83 

ta 

1845.  January  

45 

88 

31 

April  

45 

38 

83 

S 

July  

40 

85 

30 

October  

38 

34 

28 

1846.    January  

40 

85 

30 

April  

38 

33 

28 

July  

38 

33 

28 

December  1. 

October  ...   . 

86 

30 

22 

1847.    January... 

47 

88 

30 

April... 

47 

40 

31 

July  

47 

40 

31 

October 

47 

40 

80 

1848.    January  

45 

38 

30 

April 

43 

37 

80 

July.  

38 

38 

28 

October  

33 

30 

22 

1849.    January  

88 

30 

23 

April 

42 

86 

80 

July  

40 

35 

28 

October  

42 

36 

30 

1850.    January 

47 

40 

88 

April... 

45 

38 

31 

July  

45 

38 

82 

October 

45 

88 

35 

1851.    January  

45 

37 

82 

April  

50 

44 

40 

. 

July 

47 

42 

87 

3 

October  

45 

40 

38 

rS 

1852.    January  

42 

37 

32 

CM 

April 

42 

86 

31 

July  

45 

38 

32 

October  

50 

42 

37 

oj 

1853.    January 

58 

55 

50 

^ 

April... 

62 

55 

50 

July  

60 

53 

48 

October 

55 

50 

48 

1854.    January 

53 

47 

42 

April  

57 

52 

44 

July 

45 

37 

30 

October 

41 

86 

82 

1855;   January  

40 

85 

82 

April  ... 

43 

85 

July 

50 

40 

33 

October  

52 

41 

36 

1856.    January 

50 

38 

35 

April  . 

57 

48 

37 

July 

55 

43 

38 

October  

60 

55 

45 

1857.    January  

58 

50 

43 

April 

60 

56 

43 

July  1. 

July 

56 

48 

40 

October  

38 

30 

26 

1858.    January 

40 

83 

28 

April          .   . 

42 

35 

80 

July  

42 

87 

30 

October  ... 

55 

42 

36 

FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  65 

Tariff  and 
time  of  taking 

effect.           Year.                        Quarter  ending  Fine.  Median.  Coarse. 

1859.  January 60  52  45 

April 60  46  37 

July 55  40  85 

October 60  49  42 

1860.  January 60  50  40 

April 52  45  40 

July 55  50  40 

October 50  45  40 

11861.    January 45  40  87 

Aprill.                          April 45  37  32 

July 40  35  82 

October 47  47  52 

From  the  beginning  of  182T,  from  which  the  above 
prices  present  the  averages  of  each  quarter,  to 
the  close  of  1861,  a  period  of  35  years,  the  average 
price  of  fine  wool  was  50T3F  cents ;  of  medium,  42^- 
cents  ;  of  coarse,  35^  cents.  Fine  wool  averaged  15 
per  centum  higher  than  medium,  and  medium  14  per 
centum  higher  than  coarse. 

The  wools  classed  in  the  table  as  fine,  I  should  say 
included  Saxon,  grade  Saxon,  and  choice  lightish- 
fleece  American  Merino ;  the  medium  included  Amer- 
ican Merino  and  grade  down,  say  to  half  blood ;  the 
coarse  included  wools  one-fourth  blood  Merino  and 
below.  Each  of  these  classes,  of  course,  embraced 
wools  of  various  qualities  and  prices. 

Mr.  George  William  Bond,  wool  broker  of  Bos- 
ton, has  prepared  for  me  a  valuable  list  of  prices  of 
Ohio  State  wools,  extending  back  for  twenty-one 
years ;  and  Messrs.  Tellkampf  &  Kitching,  wool  bro- 
kers of  New  York,  a  valuable  list  of  prices  of  'New 
York  State  wools.  Both  of  the  last  named  lists  and 
some  others  will  be  found  in  Appendix  B. 

The  following  table  was  prepared  for  me  by  the 
Acting  Register  of  the  Treasury,  at  the  request  of 
my  Mend,  Hon.  R.  H.  Gillet,  of  Washington,  D.  0., 
former  Register  of  the  Treasury. 


FINE    WOOL  SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 


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FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  67 

The  value  of  the  annual  imports  of  manufactures 
of  wool,  for  nineteen  preceding  years,  and  a  table 
exhibiting  what  proportion  of  the  imports  of  wool, 
for  a  number  of  years,  fell  below  the  dutiable  price, 
will  be  found  in  Appendix  C. 

The  following,  extracted  from  the  Eeport  of  the 
Boston  Board  of  Trade  on  Wool,  in  1859,  was  "  fur- 
nished by  George  Wm.  Bond,  a  member  of  the 
Board,  and  by  George  Livermore,  a  member  of  the 
Government  of  the  Board." 

"WOOLEN  MACHINERY. 

Table  Showing  the  Quantify  and  Classification  of  Woolen  Machinery  in  New 
York  and  New  England. 

N.  Hamp-  Ver-    Massachu-  Connec-  Ehode  New 

Maine,  shire.  monk      setts.  ticut.  Island.  York. 

Satinets 9             3  22  165  112  33         20 

Cassimeres 28  40  44  285  95  82      108 

Cotton  warp  cloths  and 

carp . .  . .  82  .  . .         81 

Stocking  yarn  &  hosiery     6  12  6  80  74  . .         83 

Worsted  &  woolen  yarn     . .  10  . .  76  . .  8 

Blankets  and  flannels...     40  81  11  185  19  .           83 

Delaine 58  ..  67  

Carpets      2  ..  62  70  ..         47 

Cashmeretts 4  ..  5 

Shawls..- ..  ..  10  ..  7        26 

Feltings ..  ..  14  80 

Negro  cloths  and  jeans..     ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  53 

Linsays  and  dometts ..  ..  ..  ..  42 

Sundries 8  18  89  18  9  ..        148 

Total  number  of  sets  .    91          228         122  999  409        225       468 

No  of  establishments.      32  56  56  154  98         56       208 

The  above  classification  is  not  strictly  accurate,  as 
it  is  impossible  in  some  mills  to  say  how  many  sets 
are  on  each  description. 

Mr.  Bond  writes  me  (January  20,  1862)  :  "  In  the 
rest  of  the  free  States  there  are  about  500  sets  of 
cards,  as  nearly  as  I  can  reach  it." 

Mr.  Livermore  writes  me  (January  26,  1862)  :  "  I 


68  FIN3   WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

should  not  like  to  assert  that  there  is  not  a  broad- 
cloth manufactory  in  New  England,  though  I  do  not 
know  of  any  machinery,  now  running,  of  that  kind  of 
goods." 

A  manufacturer  of  standing  in  our  State,  who 
made  broadcloths  prior  to  1846,  writes  me  (January 
23,  1862),  that  there  are  no  broadcloths  made  in  the 
United  States,  so  far  as  he  knows,  except  such  as  are 
made  for  the  army  and  navy ;  and  a  few  cotton 
warp  cloths,  called  "  Union." 

I  have  presented  the  preceding  statistics,  because 
they  embrace  facts  which  are  inseparably  and  impor- 
tantly connected  with  the  progress  of  sheep  and  wool 
husbandry  in  the  United  States ;  and  without  them 
much  of  the  history  I  am  sketching  would  be  mean- 
ingless— a  mere  record  of  apparently  casual  events.  I 
had  contemplated  accompanying  them  with  similar 
statistics  of  the  woolen  production,  trade,  and  legisla- 
tion of  other  nations ;  but  I  found  that  while  those  of 
them  which  could  be  obtained  in  this  country  would 
swell  this  paper  to  a  volume,  they  still  would  lack  a 
satisfactory  degree  of  completeness  without  sending 
to  Europe  for  more,  for  which  there  would  be  no 
time. 

Having  presented  a  class  of  facts,  the  mutual  rela- 
tions and  bearings  of  which  have  been  made  the 
topics  of  much  partisan  discussion — which,  in  some 
cases,  indeed,  have  constituted  what  are  termed  u  is- 
sues" between  parties — I  feel  constrained  to  omit  my 
own  deductions  and  conclusions  in  respect  to  them, 
leaving  every  person  to  form  his  own  opinions  on  the 
subject. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  69 

Decline  in  the  Production  of  Fine  Wools,— The 
Spanish  supersedes  the  Saxon  Merino. 

The  small  difference  made  in  the  prices  of  different 
qualities  of  wool,  in  our  country,  necessarily  proved 
fatal  to  the  success  of  the  Saxon  Merino.  The  im- 
provement of  the  imported  sheep  in  the  hands  of  such 
breeders  as  Mr.  Grove,  Mr  Scoville,  of  Connecticut, 
Mr.  Reed,  of  Pennsylvania,  Messrs.  Wells  and  Dick- 
inson, of  Ohio,  Mr.  Cockrill,  of  Tennessee,  and  many 
others,  was  manifest ;  and  in  some  cases  it  more  than 
kept  pace  with  what  may  be  termed  the  reform  move- 
ment of  Baron  Yon  Sternburg,  Prince  Lichnowski, 
and  their  compatriots  in  Germany. 

Two  years  after  the  introduction  of  the  Saxons  (i.  e., 
in  1826),  the  average  price  of  their  wool  sunk  within 
ten  cents  of  that  of  full-blood  Merino  wool.  It  never 
subsequently  rose  to  any  higher  proportionable  price, 
while  the  difference  was  frequently  only  five  or  eight 
cents  a  pound.  The  best  breeders  of  pure  Saxons, 
who  owned  large  flocks,  could  not  bring  up  the  mean 
product  of  their  whole  number  to  three  pounds  of 
wool  per  head.  In  1840,  Mr.  Grove's  admirable  flock 

-not  exceeding  about  200  sheep — yielded  an  average 
rf  2  Ibs.  11  oz.  per  head;  and  he  published  this  pro- 
duct as  a  proof  of  the  value  of  his  favorite  breed,  in 
that  controversy  between  the  advocates  of  the  Saxon 
and  Spanish  Merinos  which  was  then  filling  our  agri- 
cultural publications. 

This  controversy  opened  about  1835.  The  Saxons 
had  by  far  the  greatest  number  of  distinguished 
names,  but  the  Spanish  sheep  had  nearly  all  the  facts 
on  their  side.  As  early  as  1831-'32,  Mr.  Jarvis'  full- 


TO  FINE    WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

blood  Merinos  yielded  about  4  Ibs.  of  wool  per  liead. 
And  persons  who  obtained  small  choice  lots  of  him, 
from  the  period  of  1835,  could  obtain  ewes  yielding 
nearly  or  quite  4^  Ibs.  per  head.  In  1835,  Francis 
Rotch,  the  celebrated  cattle  and  sheep  breeder  of 
Morris  (then  Louisville),  JSTew  York,  published  the 
statement  that  his  flock  of  Spanish  Merinos  yielded 
an  average  of  4|  Ibs.  of  "  well  washed  wool."  My  own 
flock,  larger  than  Mr.  Rotch's,  yielded  an  equal  amount. 
This  was  also  undoubtedly  true  of  the  flock  of  Stephen 
Atwood,  of  Woodbury,  Connecticut ;  of  John  T.  Rich, 
of  Shoreham,  Vermont ;  and  of  many  other  flocks  de- 
scended from  those  of  the  two  last  named  gentlemen. 
And  the  Spanish  sheep,  then  the  subject  of  great 
attention — and  of  attention  directed  especially  towards 
increase  of  fleece — was  rapidly  adding  to  the  disparity 
between  itself  and  the  Saxon  in  this  particular.  In 
1844, 1  purchased  a  small  lot  of  Rich  ewes  in  Yer- 
mont  which  yielded  an  average  of  5  Ibs.  of  washed 
wool  at  a  year  old.  The  same  year,  a  little  flock  of 
thirty  (descended  from  Colonel  Humphreys'  sheep), 
yielded  me  an  average  of  5  Ibs.  13|  oz.  of  washed 
wool.* 

*  Two  of  the  number  were  raras,  and  four  of  the  ewes  had  two 
years'  fleeces  on;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  a  portion  of  them  were 
yearlings  and  two  year  olds,  which  yeaned  at  the  customary  time,  and 
treated  in  the  customary  way  in  '  my  flock,  always  fall  considerably 
short  of  the  fleeces  of  grown  sheep.  My  impression  at  the  time  was, 
that  the  fleeces  of  the  twenty-eight  ewes,  including  the  double  ones, 
did  not  weigh  more  than  would  the  fleeces  of  the  same  sheep  at  three 
or  four  years  old,  without  any  double  ones.  The  sheep  were  not 
housed  except  in  winter,  and  were  wholly  unpampered.  See  my  de- 
tailed statement  of  their  keep,  &c.,  in  Transactions  N.  T.  State  Agri- 
cultural Society,  1844.  They  drew  the  first  premium  of  the  Society 
for  best  managed  flock. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  71 

In  1845,  Mr.  Stephen  Atwood  wrote  to  the  author 
of  the  American  Shepherd,  that  his  flock  consisted  of 
150  half  ewes  and  half  rams,  and  wethers ;  that  his 
ewes  yielded  5  Ibs.  of  washed  wool  per  head,  and  his 
lambs  an  equal  amount ;  that  his  wethers  yielded  six 
pounds,  and  his  rams  from  seven  to  nine  pounds ;  that 
his  heaviest  ewe's  fleece  in  the  preceding  spring  was 
6  Ibs.  6  oz.,  and  the  heaviest  ram's  fleece  12  Ibs.  4  oz. 

It  is  my  impression  that  several  other  small  flocks, 
whose  product  of  wool  was  published  at  that  period, 
yielded  about  the  same  amount;  but  none  of  those 
statements  are  at  hand. 

Many  of  the  Saxon  breeders  strove  to  shut  their 
eyes  -to  such  facts  as  the  preceding.  They  called 
loudly  for  more  discriminating  prices  from  the  manu- 
facturers, and  for  high  protective  tariffs  from  the 
Government.  The  first  did  not  come ;  the  last  did 
not  remain.  The  financial  crash  of  1837  carried  the 
price  of  Saxon  wool  absolutely  below  a  remunerative 
point.  There  was  a  very  brief  rally  towards  the 
close  of  1839,  but  it  again  sunk  to  the  non-remunera- 
tive point,  and  has  never  since  regained  it.  From 
that  period  the  difference  in  the  prices  of  Saxon  and 
Spanish  Merino  wool  has  not  usually  exceeded  five  or 
eight  cents  per  pound.  After  that  failure  of  our 
broadcloth  manufacturers  which  followed  the  tariff  of 
1846,  the  breeders  of  Saxons  gave  up  all  hope,  and 
rapidly  relinquished  their  flocks  or  crossed  them  with 
other  breeds  or  varieties. 


72  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 


The  American  Merino. 

When  the  Saxon  sheep  disappeared,  the  improved 
Spanish  Merino  again  came  into  general  favor.  Thus 
far  I  have  used  the  term  "  Spanish"  in  speaking  of 
them,  but  it  is  quite  time  to  change  our  ovine  nomen- 
clature in  this  particular.  France  and  Saxony  have 
produced  distinct  and  self-sustaining*  varieties  of  the 
Merino,  and  given  them  their  national  names.  The 
American  variety,  though  departing  far  less  essen- 
tially from  the  original  standard  of  the  race,  is  equal- 
ly distinct  and  equally  self-sustaining.  Let  us  then 
hereafter  talk  of  American  instead  of  Spanish  Meri- 
nos, unless  we  mean  by  the  latter  designation  the  pres- 
ent inferior  sheep  of  Spain. 

The  American  Merinos,  when  again  brought  into 
public  favor  between  1840  and  1845,  were  found 
divided  into  several  as  well  marked  families  as  were 
their  Leonese  ancestors  in  1800.  This  arose  partly 
from  the  preservation  of  the  original  family  blood 
unmixed,  and  partly  from  the  courses  of  breeding 
adopted  by  their  owners. 

Premising  that  the  order  in  which  I  place  them  im- 
plies no  attempted  gradation  as  to  merit,  I  will  pro- 
ceed to  describe : 

1.  Mr  Jarvis's,  or  the  mixed  Leonese  sheep  of  the 
United  States.  What  varieties  of  his  imported  sheep 
he  bred  together  has  already  been  made  to  appear. 
Those  of  their  descendants  which  I  saw  twenty  years 
ago  were  not  perhaps  quite  as  light  in  weight,  long  in 

*  That  is,  reproducing  their  characteristics  in  their  offspring  with 
regularity. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  73 

the  legs  and  neck,  and  narrow  in  the  carcass  as  the 
Spanish  sheep  measured  by  Petri,  but  they  were 
equally  remote  from  the  compactness  and  substance 
of  the  American  sheep,  whose  measurements  are  sub- 
joined to  Petri's  table,  or  of  the  family  I  shall  de- 
scribe as  No.  3.  Their  skins  were  thin,  loose,  and 
usually  exhibited  but  few  corrugations,  and  these  were 
confined  to  the  ram  and  to  the  neck  of  that  animal. 
They  had  but  a  small  amount  of  external  gum,  and 
were  accordingly  quite  white — whiter  than  any 
Spanish  sheep  imported  into  this  country  except  the 
Escurial.  They  had  little  wool  below  the  eyes  or 
below  the  knees  and  hocks.  Their  wool  was  long, 
but  shorter  on  the  belly,  and  of  medium  thickness. 
On  a  portion  of  them  it  divided  about  the  shoulders 
and  fore  parts  into  those  small  pointed  tufts  which  in- 
dicate thin  wool.  The  fleece  was  very  fine,  very  even, 
and  opened  on  a  high  tinted,  rosy  skin,  with  a  bril- 
liancy and  style  which  almost  rivalled  the  Saxon.  The 
yolk  was  thin,  colorless,  and  easily  liberated  in  washing. 
I  have  never  seen  any  other  Merino  wool  so  closely 
resembling  Saxon,  or  of  so  profitable  a  character  to 
the  manufacturer.  Altogether  the  sheep  bore  an  ob- 
vious likeness  to  the  Spanish  Escurial,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  Mr.  Jarvis  gave  a  preference  to  rams  of 
that  variety  while  he  was  forming  his  mixed  family. 
They  were,  however,  a  heavier  fleeced,  and  for  this 
country,  a  more  valuable  sheep  than  those  of  the 
Royal  cabana  of  Spain. 

2.  I  take  up  these  next  as  the  descendants  of  an 
older  importation  than  No.  3,  and  I  am  almost  in- 
clined to  dub  them  the  American  Infantados.  They 
were  bred  from  rams  and  ewes  of  Colonel  Humphreys' 


4  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

importation,  by  Stephen  Atwood,  of  Connecticut.*    I 

*  Mr.  Atwood  writes  me  that  in  the  spring  of  1813  he  bought  a  ewe 
of  Colonel  Humphreys  for  $120,  and  put  her  to  a  ram  "that  Young- 
love  Cutler  bought  of  Colonel  Humphreys  in  1807."  This  was  the 
starting-point  of  his  flock.  He  put  their  descendants  to  rams  raised 
from  Colonel  Humphreys'  sheep  in  his  neighborhood,  until  about  1830, 
after  which  period  he  used  rams  of  his  own  raising.  This  is  the  dis- 
tinct and  positive  statement  of  a  man  whose  character  is  considered 
good  by  those  who  know  him.  It  has  been  uniformly  made  and  per- 
sisted in  by  him  from  a  period  long  anterior  to  the  tune  when  the 
public  attached  any  particular  importance  to  the  fact  whether  the 
sheep  were  descended  exclusively  from  Colonel  Humphreys'  importa- 
tion or  not.  Though  I  own  sheep  of  this  family,  I  have  never  regarded 
that  point  of  particular  importance  ;  and  I  commenced  sifting  out  the 
facts  on  the  present  occasion  leaning  towards  the  opposite  belief.  But 
I  find  Mr.  Atwood' s  statements  persistent,  coherent,  reasonable  in 
themselves,  originally  made  under  no  peculiar  motive  of  interest,  and 
he  certainly  ought  to  know  the  history  of  his  own  flock  better  than 
those  who  are  not  even  his  near  neighbors.  To  the  only  individual 
who  has,  so  far  as  I  know,  impeached  the  accuracy  of  Mr.  Atwood' s 
statements,  I  recently  applied  for  a  history  of  his  own  flock,  only  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  him  the  place  and  credit  to  which  I  supposed 
him  entitled  as  a  breeder  of  the  pure  descendants  of  imported  Merino 
sheep.  Something  in  the  reply,  and  something  in  another  letter  re- 
ceived at  the  same  period,  induced  me  to  question  him  in  relation  to 
Mr.  Atwood's  flock.  He  says  that  prior  to  about  the  year  1822,  Mr. 
Atwood's  sheep  were  Negrettis — "the  hardest  kind  of  Spanish  sheep;" 
that  Atwood  then  bought  of  him  (my  informant)  a  ram  got  by  a  ram 
"bred  by  Daniel  Bacon,  out  of  his  imported  Escurial  buck;  "that  some 

years  after,  Mr.  Atwood  hired  a  buck  of (name  illegible)  that 

was  got  by  his  (my  informant's)  "best  Escurial  buck  ;"  that  "from  these 
two  bucks  he  (Atwood)  has  obtained  his  great  credit."  My  informant 
says  his  own  ewes  were  Infantados.  (See  preceding  note,  where  the 
importation  of  Atwater  and  Peck  is  spoken  of.)  Admitting  the  sale, 
purchase,  and  hiring  above  alleged,  does  it  prove  any  thing  ?  Mr.  At- 
wood not  only  bought  or  hired,  but  used  a  Saxon  ram  one  year ;  but 
wiser  than  his  neighbors,  promptly  abandoned  him  and  weeded  all 
his  lambs  out  of  the  flock.  If  there  was  any  Merino  flock  in  the 
United  States  specially  unlike  the  Escurials,  it  was  Mr.  Atwood's 
twenty  years  ago.  and  the  same  is  true  now.  How,  then,  could  his 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDKY.  75 

think  that  in  1840  they  were  about  as  heavy  sheep  as 
Mr.  Jarvis's,  and  had  the  same  Spanish  figure — that  is 
to  say,  they  were  taller,  thinner,  longer  necked  and 
finer  boned  than-  our  present  Merinos.  I  should  say 
they  were  a  little  flatter  in  the  ribs  than  "No.  1,  and  a 
little  deeper  in  the  chest.  They  were  peculiarly  deep- 
chested,  and  not  only  had  a  very  marked  Spanish  ap- 
pearance, but  the  marked  individuality  of  sheep  from 
one  cabana.  Their  skins  were  mellow,  loose,  and  of 
a  fine  deep  color.  The  ram  had  a  pendulous  dewlap, 
and  some  moderate  sized  neck-folds.  Some  of  the 
ewes  had  dewlaps,  but  otherwise  their  skins  were  free 
from  corrugation.  The  external  color  of  the  fleece 
was  very  dark,  sometimes  a  pitchy  black,  'shining  and 
sticky  in  hot  weather,  and  forming  a  rigid  crust  in 
cold  weather.  The  inside  was  so  filled  with  yolk  that 
every  fibre  seemed  to  have  been  dipped  in  it,  and  it 
often  stood  in  small  globules  between  the  fibres.  The 
inside  yolk  was  thin,  generally  colorless,  and  perfectly 
limpid.  The  sheep  were  not  wooled  below  the  eye, 
knee,  and  hock.  The  wool  was  rather  short — consider- 
ably shorter  than  that  of  No.  1  and  No.  3,  and  did 
not  carry  out  its  length  so  well  on  the  belly,  forehead, 
cheeks,  and  legs  near  the  knees  as  No.  3.  The  wool 

flock  have  obtained  "their  credit"  from  Escurial  rams !  What  authority ' 
has  my  informant  for  pronouncing  sheep  notoriously  bred  from  a  ewe 
from  Colonel  Humphreys'  own  flock,  to  be  Negrettis,  and  "  the  hardest 
kind  of  Spanish  sheep  ?"  Judge  of  my  astonishment  when  I  find  the 
same  person  claiming,  in  a  published  letter  seventeen  years  ago,  that 
his  own  sheep  instead  of  being  originally  Infantados,  were  "  apart  of 
them  Negrettis  and  a  part  Montarcos  !"  These  slips  of  memory  at  least 
admonish  us  that  similar  ones  may  have  occurred  in  other  instances. 
Again  I  say  the  matter  is  of  little  consequence,  except  as  one  of  justice 
to  an  old  breeder  who  deserves  well  of  the  public;  and  when  such  de- 
tails are  given  .at  all,  they  should  be  correctly  given. 


76  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

stood  thicker  than  on  No.  1,  and  often  seemed  vastly 
thicker  when  grasped,  by  the  hand  externally,  by  rea- 
son of  its  gummy  coating.  I  saw  some,  however, 
which,  under  this  gummy  coating,  had  thinnish  wool. 
The  quality  and  style  of  the  wool  were  excellent.  Its 
carves  were  especially  bold  and  showy,  and  were  con- 
tinued regularly  throughout  the  entire  length  of  the 
fibre,  showing  even  on  the  tips.  The  fleece  had  great 
evenness,  and  nothing  approaching  to  hair  in  any  part. 
The  sheep  had  not  the  appearance  of  being  as  hardy 
or  as  easily  kept  as  No.  3.  To  my  eye  they  looked 
like  animals  which  had  attained  great  uniformity  and 
strong  points  of  excellence  by  in-and-in  breeding,  but 
that  this  had  been  carried  so  far  that  they  were  on  the 
point  of  losing  constitution.  It  would  seem,  however, 
that  this  opinion  was  unfounded,  for  we  now  have 
flocks  of  their  unmixed  descendants  which,  after  twenty 
years  more  of  in-and-in  breeding,  have  been  converted 
into  low,  compact,  strong,  heavy,  and  hardy  sheep. 

3.  The  American  Paulars.  They  were  purchased 
of  the  importer  by  Andrew  Cock,  a  breeder  of  charac- 
ter residing  near  Flushing,  Long  Island.*  They  were 
sold  in  1823  to  Hon.  Charles  Eich,  M.  C.,  and  Leon- 
ard Bedell,  of  Shoreham,  Yermont.  Twenty  years 
ago  they  were  heavy,  low,  broad  skeep,  full  in  the 
bosom  and  buttocks,  with  strong  bones,  thick  short 
necks,  and  thick  coarse  heads.  .  The  ewes  had  deep, 
pendulous,  and  sometimes  plaited  dewlaps,  and  folds 
of  moderate  size  about  the  neck  •  the  rams  had  both 
in  a  greater  degree.  The  external  color  of  the  fleece 

*  Their  full  pedigree,  sustained  by  the  most  ample  testimony — tes- 
timony never  since  disputed — was  published  in  the  American  Agri- 
culturist and  Cultivator,  hi  1844. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY .  77 

was  dark  leaden  gray,  or  blackish,  indicating  consider- 
ably more  yolk  than  JSTo.  1,  and  considerably  less  than 
~No.  2.  They  were  not  wooled  below  the  eye,  and  not 
commonly  below  the  knee  and  hock.*  The  wool  was 
long,  and  retained  its  length  unusually  well  on  the 
belly,  forehead,  cheeks,  and  on  the  legs  down  to  the 
knees  and  hocks.  It  was  very  thick  over  all  the  parts, 
and  in  many  instances  broke  into  masses  of  the  same 
size  on  the  belly  as  on  the  sides,  instead  of  the  small 
pointed  tufts  usual  in  that  place  on  E"o.  1  and  No.  2. 
This  indicated  great  thickness  of  fleece.  The  fleece 
was  considerably  inferior  to  that  of  the  preceding 
families  in  fineness,  evenness,  and  general  style.  It 
was  sometimes  quite  coarse  on  the  thigh,  and  hairs 
were  occasionally  seen  protruding  from  the  edges  of 
the  neck  folds.  The  lambs  were  often  covered  with 
hair  when  born,  and  their  big,  bony  legs  and  thick 
coated  ears  were  marked  with  patches  of  tan-color. 
On  the  ears  this  color  continued  to  show  faintly,  on 
close  examination,  through  life.  They  were  better 
nurses  and  hardier  than  either  of  the  other  families : 
they  were  precisely  the  negligent  farmer's  sheep.  I 
have  often  seen  a  flock  of  them,  slightly  sheltered  by 
a  haystack,  stand  composedly  chewing  their  cuds,  and 
treading  down  the  drifting  snow  under  their  feet, 
when  the  wild  northwest  gale  "  curled  up"  every  other 
shivering  animal  on  the  farm.f 

*  I  speak  of  wool  of  length  and  quality  fit  to  be  put  in  the  fleece 
when  sheared.  Nearly  all  of  them  had  short,  coarsish  wool  on  the 
legs,  and  particularly  on  the  hind  legs. 

f  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  state  that  on  the  8th  of  February,  1862,  a 
number  of  the  most  prominent  breeders  and  friends  of  these  respective 
families  of  sheep,  in  Addison  county,  Vt.,  met  me  by  appointment  at 
the  house  of  Hon.  M.  W.  C.  Wright,  of  Shoreham,  and  conceiving 


78  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDKY. 

4.  I  do  not  intend  specially  to  classify  under  this  head, 
and  attempt  to  describe,  any  separate  family.  Chan- 
cellor Livingston's  flock,  I  have  understood,  was  pre- 
served by  his  descendants  until  about  1840,  and  for 
aught  I  know,  later.  Of  its  later  history  and  character 
I  know  nothing.  There  were  a  number  of  breeders 
in  all  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States,  who  com- 
menced flocks  with  imported  Spanish  Merinos.  Most 
of  them  crossed  with  the  Saxons  after  1824,  and  lost 
the  Spanish  characteristics.  But  there  were  excep- 
tions in  probably  nearly  every  state  where  the  Merino 
was  established.  I  know  of  several  such  instances  in 
New  York,  but  the  flocks  have  not  attained  sufficient 
excellence  to  deserve  special  mention  now,  or  they 
have  been  so  crossed  with  other  flocks — and  particu- 
larly with  those  classified  under  the  three  preceding 
heads — as  to  retain  no  distinct  and  separate  family 
character.  Most  of  the  early  flockmasters  of  New 
York  were  men  of  large  possessions,  and  were  rather 
wool  growers  than  breeders.  In  other  words,  the 
production  of  wool  was  the  primary  consideration 

that  it  was  a  subject  on  which  they  had  a  right  to  be  heard,  I  read 
to  them  the  preceding  descriptions  of  their  sheep  as  they  were 
twenty  years  ago ;  my  account  of  the  results  of  crossing  these  fami- 
lies (presently  to  appear),  and,  indeed,  every  thing  pertaining  to  their 
sheep  in  this  paper,  except  the  references  to  and  descriptions  of  their 
present  individual  flocks,  which  I  did  not  read, — which,  indeed,  were 
not  then  written. 

I  solicited  these  gentlemen  to  correct  my  statements  wherever 
they  thought  I  had  fallen  into  error,  apprising  them  that  if  after  such 
an  invitation  they  should  fail  to  do  so,  they,  as  much  as  myself,  would 
be  committed  to  the  accuracy  of  my  assertions.  No  corrections  wore 
offered,  but  on  the  contrary,  Messrs.  Hammond,  Rich,  "Wright,  and 
others  expressed  their  unqualified  affirmative  assent  to  those  asser- 
tions. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  79 

with  them,  instead  of  the  production  of  a  small 
annual  surplus  of  rams  and  ewes  to  be  sold  at  extra 
prices  for  breeding  purposes.  On  the  other  hand, 
several  persons  in  Connecticut  and  Vermont  fortu- 
nately devoted  themselves  specially  to  breeding,  and 
in  their  ardor  to  improve  and  to  excel  each  other  and 
the  Saxon  breeders,  made  great  and  beneficial  changes 
in  the  characteristics  of  the  breed.  Accordingly, 
when  the  restoration  of  the  American  Merinos  to 
public  favor  took  place,  about  1845,  New  England 
had  choicer  individual  sheep  than  New  York ;  and 
there  was  a  general  importation  of  them,  and  espe- 
cially of  breeding  rams,  from  the  former  into  the 
latter,  and  into  the  other  states  lying  west  of  New 
England.  These  importations  superseded  the  families 
existing  in  those  states,  or  were  blended  with  them, 
and  thus  merged  the  individuality  of  the  latter  as 
separate  families.  From  that  period,  the  American 
Paulars  and  Infantados*  have  been  bred  distinct  in 
all  parts  of  our  country.  Those  who  then  procured  Mr. 
Jarvis's  "  mixed  Leonese"  sheep,  have  generally  since 
crossed  them  with  one  or  both  the  other  families. 
It  would  be  an  instructive  lesson  could  I  accurately 

*  I  have  no  wish  to  impose  a  new  name  on  the  public  for  the 
"Atwood  sheep,"  as  they  are  commonly  termed,  but  I  adopt  this 
designation  myself,  first,  because  I  believe  it  to  be  the  correct 
one ;  seeondly,  because  it  is  convenient  and  proper  to  have  a  fam- 
ily name  for  these  well-known  sheep ;  and  thirdly,  because  I  can  see 
no  propriety  in  giving  them  permanently  the  name  of  an  individual, 
who,  if  he  deserves  (as  he  undoubtedly  does)  great  credit  for  pre- 
serving their  blood  unmixed,  and  effecting  considerable  improvements 
on  the  original  stock,  neither  imported  them  nor  brought  them  to 
their  present  high  degree  of  perfection.  If  they  are  to  be  named 
after  any  man,  that  man  should  be  Colonel  Humphreys. 


80  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

trace  out  the  modes  and  the  results  reached  by  the 
most  noted  breeders  of  these  separate  or  mixed  fami- 
lies. To  attempt  it  without  long  and  minute  investi- 
gation, would  be  not  only  unfair,  but  excessively 
presumptuous ;  and  even  after  the  most  careful  exam- 
ination, it  would  be  a  very  delicate  affair,  to  say  the 
least  of  it,  to  assume  to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  com- 
parative merits  of  flocks  which  are  now  keen  competi- 
tors for  public  favor,  and  concerning  which  the 
opinions  of  the  most  intelligent  and  experienced 
flockmasters  differ.  Accordingly  I  shall  waive  it, 
after  reserving  to  myself  the  right  of  selecting  some 
examples  when  I  come  to  discuss  the  subject  of 
crossing. 

Suffice  it  to  say,  that  each  of  the  separate  families 
and  the  crosses  between  them,  or  between  them  and 
other  pure  American  Merino  stocks,  have  improved 
enormously  within  twenty  years. 

The  American  Merinos,  the  measurements,  etc.,  of 
which  I  subjoin  to  Petri's  table,  exhibit  some  of  the 
marked  changes  which  have  taken  place  in  the  form 
of  the  breed,  not  only  since  their  original  importation, 
but  within  the  last  twenty  years.  And  if  that  table 
had  been  more  complete  in  useful  data,  these  facts 
would  be  still  more  apparent.  The  American  sheep, 
weighed  and  measured  for  that  table,  were  not,  as 
already  remarked,  extraordinary  ones  in  any  particular 
pertaining  to  the  carcass — were  such  as  can  be  found 
in  abundance  in  any  prime  flock.  When  their  length 
of  leg,  neck  and  body,  and  breadth  of  hip  are  com- 
pared with  each  other,  and  with  their  weight,  their 
compactness  and  massiveness  of  form  become  a  neces- 
sary corollary ;  and  here  the  disparity  between  them 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  81 

and  the  original  Spanish,  sheep  is  most  striking.  The 
longer  neck  and  legs,  and  shorter  bodies  of  the  latter, 
remind  us  of  the  Saxons. 

The  improvement  of  the  fleece  has  kept  pace  with 
that  of  the  form.  In  prime  flocks,  the  quality  is  at 
least  as  good  as  that  of  the  original  Spanish  sheep, 
while  the  quantity  has  more  than  doubled. 

The  very  best  Merinos  imported  into  the  United 
States  between  1800  and  1813,  yielded  from  3£  to  4 
Ibs.  of  brook-washed  wool  in  the  ewe,  and  from  6  to 
T  Ibs.  in  the  ram.  Mr.  Dupont's  Don  Pedro,  the 
heaviest  fleeced  imported  Spanish  Merino  ram,  I 
think,  on  record,  produced  8  Ibs.  8  oz.,  of  brook- 
washed  wool.  We  have  seen  that  ewes  in  small 
flocks,  descended  from  the  above,  yielded  an  average 
of  4|-  Ibs.  of  wool,  washed  in  the  same  way,  as  early 
as  1835.  In  1844-'45,  the  product  had  risen  to  5  Ibs. 
in  some  small  flocks  ;  that  of  rams  to  9  Ibs.,  and  in  in- 
dividual instances  much  higher.*  At  the  present  day 
it  is  easier  to  find  small  flocks  yielding  an  average  of 
6  Ibs.  of  washed  wool,  than  it  was  in  1845  to  find  those 
yielding  5  Ibs.,  or  in  1835  those  yielding  4£  Ibs. 

I  speak  of  "  small"  flocks,  because  in  large  ones 
equal  averages  are  never  obtained.  It  would  be  diffi- 
cult, and  probably  impracticable  at  this  time,  to  find 
a  flock  of  400  or  500  ewes,  kept  in  the  ordinary  way, 

*  See  preceding  statement  of  Mr.  Atwood,  that  in  1845  his  heaviest 
ewe's  fleece  was  6  Ibs.  6  oz.,  and  his  heaviest  ram's  fleece  12  Ibs.  4 
oz.  My  premium  ram's  first  fleece  in  1844,  was  10  Ibs.  of  well  washed 
wool.  In  1847,  a  ewe  of  mine  produced  7  Ibs.  10  oz.  of  well  washed 
wool.  (See  portrait  of  her  in  Sheep  Husbandry  in  the  South,  p.  134.) 
In  1849,  a  ram  of  mine  yielded  13  Ibs.  and  two  or  three  ounces  of 
well  washed  wool.  I  think  that  Mr.  Atwood  then  probably  had  ranis 
which  exceeded  that  amount. 

4* 


82  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

which  would  produce  an  average  of  more  than  5  Ibs. 
of  well  washed  prime  Merino  wool.  But  from  these, 
100  could  be  drawn,  which,  subdivided  into  a  couple 
of  flocks,  given  ;'  the  range"  of  an  entire  farm  in  sum- 
mer and  well  kept  in  winter,  would  yield  a  pound 
more  of  wool  a  head.  The  heaviest  fleeced  50  of  this 
hundred,  bought  by  a  breeder,  protected  from  all 
storms  and  pampered  for  show,  would  yield  nearly  7  Ibs. 
of  washed  wool  a  head,  and  a  few  scattering  ones  from 
8  to  even  9  Ibs.  Should  one  of  the  very  heaviest 
fleeced  ewes  of  the  flock  fail  to  have  a  lamb  at  two  or 
three  years  old,  and  become  very  fat,  she  might,  pro- 
duce 10  Ibs.  of  wool  the  succeeding  year.  Prime  rams 
unwashed  and  housed  from  storms  from  the  middle 
of  August  to  shearing*  produce  from  18  to  20  Ibs. ; 
and  occasionally,  if  large  and  very  highly  kept,  two, 
three,  and  even  five  pounds  more. 

Introduction  of  tbe  Frenck  Merino. 

When  the  American  Merino  started  on  his  second 
and  rapid  march  of  improvement,  he  soon  found  a 
new  foreign  competitor  for  public  favor  in  the  field. 

Mr.  D.  C.  Collins's  importation  of  French  Merinos 
in  1840,  has  already  been  alluded  to  in  the  extracts 
I  have  published  from  Mr.  Taintor's  letter.  These 
sheep  found  a  warm  admirer  and  advocate  in  Anthony 
Benezet  Allen,  the  very  able  editor  of  the  American 
Agriculturist,  and  they  were  consequently  brought 
rapidly  into  public  notice.  Mr.  Allen  attended  Mr. 
Collins's  shearing  in  1843.  He  considered  the  wool 

*  It  has  become  so  customary  not  to  wash  the  best  stock  rams,  and 
to  treat  them  as  above  mentioned,  that  I  am  compelled  to  give  their 
weight  of  fleeces  under  such  circumstances. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  83 

quite  equal  to  the  best  of  that  of  Spain.  It  opened 
with  a  brilliant  creamy  color  on  a  rich,  soft,  pink 
skin,  which  was  excessively  loose  and  corrugated. 
The  sheep  were  of  fine  form,  he  thought  of  excellent 
constitution,  and  from  one-tenth  to  one-fifth  larger  in 
carcass  than  American  Merinos.  "  Grandee,"  the 
choicest  imported  ram,*  had,  at  three  years  old  in 
France,  sheared  14:  Ibs.  unwashed  wool.  In  1842  his 
unwashed  fleece  weighed  12f  pounds.  He  was  3  feet 
8-J-  inches  long  "  from  the  setting  on  of  the  horns  to 
the  end  of  the  rump,"  and  weighed,  in  fair  condition, 
about  150  pounds.  Mr.  Allen  found  the  average 
weight  of  the  ewes'  unwashed  fleeces  in  1843  to  be 
6  Ibs.  9  oz. 

Mr.  Taintor's  importations  commenced  in  1846. 
Mr.  Allen  has  kindly  furnished  me  with  a  list  of 
those  also  made  by  other  persons,  but,  on  second 
thought,  I  have  concluded  not  to  give  it.  To  do  so 
without  discrimination  would  be  placing  honorable 
persons  in  an  unpleasant  association,  and  I  do  not 
feel  called  upon,,without  greater  necessity,  to  specify 
individual  frauds  which  have  mostly  worked  their 
own  cure. 

Mr.  Taintor,  on  the  point  of  leaving  home,  refer- 
red me  for  particulars  concerning  his  imported  sheep, 
to  a  large  proprietor  of  them,  Mr.  John  D.  Patterson, 
of  Westfield,  ~N.  Y.  That  gentleman  has  furnished 
me  the  following  statements  : 

"Your  second  inquiry  calls  for  the  characteris- 
tics of  these  imported  sheep,  weight  of  single  year's 

*  He  was  used  as  a  sire  ram  at  Eambouillet,  and  Mr.  Collins  was 
obliged  to  wait  until  he  was  thus  used  the  year  that  h«  brought  him 
out. 


84  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

fleeces,  &c.,  &c.  It  would  be  difficult  to  give  the 
characteristics  of  these  various  importations  of  sheep, 
as  there  has  been  so  great  a  difference  in  them, 
they  having  been  of  all  kinds  and  qualities,  from 
good  to  very  inferior.  Some  of  them  have  been  of 
large  size,  were  well  proportioned,  being  short  in  the 
leg,  broad  in  the  chest,  had  strong  hardy  constitu- 
tions, were  easily  kept,  and  always  in  good  condi- 
tion. "With  ordinary  care  and  on  ordinary  feed,  they 
sheared  heavy  fleeces,  and  their  wool  was  even  and  of 
good  quality,  while  others  of  them,  and  by  far  the 
greatest  number,  were  the  opposite  of  these  in  all  the 
different  qualities  mentioned,  some  having  been  the 
discarded  and  refused  sheep  of  good  flocks,  and  others 
were  grade  sheep  from  flocks  having  no  reputation  as 
being  of  strictly  pure  blood ;  but  these  kinds  of  sheep 
were  bought  up  by  speculators  at  low  prices,  brought 
to  this  country  and  sold  on  the  reputation  and  credit 
of  the  better  class  of  French  sheep  that  had  been 
previously  imported.  They  were  long  in  the  leg  and 
long  in  the  neck  ;  were  slab-sided,  thin-visaged,  gaunt, 
thin  through  the  shoulders,  narrow  in  the  chest ; 
their  constitutions  so  puny  and  delicate  that  it  was 
impossible  to  keep  them  in  fair  condition  even  with 
the  best  possible  care  and  attention  ;  their  fleeces  were 
light,  their  wool  uneven  in  quality,  some  being  quite 
too  fine  for  profit  (because  too  light),  while  others 
would  be  exceedingly  coarse  and  filled  with  jar.  In 
France,  as  in  this  country,  there  are  all  descriptions 
and  grades  of  sheep,  and  it  does  not  follow,  as  is  sup- 
posed by  many,  that  all  that  have  been  imported 
from  there  are  of  the  same  kind  and  quality,  even  if 
called  by  the  same  name. 

"  In  answer  to  your  inquiry  as  to  the  weight  of 
fleece  of  the  French  sheep  and  their  live  weight,  I 
can  only  reply  by  giving  the  result  of  my  own  flock. 
My  French  rams  have  generally  sheared  from  18  to 
24  pounds  of  an  even  year's  growth,  and  unwashed ; 


FINE    WOOL    SIIEEP    HUSBANDRY.  85 

but  some  of  them,  with  high  keeping  and  light  use, 
have  sheared  more,  and  my  yearling  rams  have 
generally  sheared  from  15  to  22  pounds  each.  My 
breeding  and  yearling  ewes  have  never  averaged  as 
low  as  15  pounds  each,  unwashed,  taking  the  entire 
flock.  Some  of  them  have  sheared  over  20  pounds 
each,  but  these  were  exceptions,  being  large  and  in 
high  condition. 

"  The  live  weight  of  any  animal  of  course  depends 
very  much  upon  its  condition.  My  yearling  ewes 
usually  range  from  90  to  130  pounds  each,  and  the 
grown  ewes  from  130  to  170  pounds  each,  and  I  have 
had  some  that  weighed  over  200  pounds  each  ;  but 
these  would  be  above  the  average  size  and  in  high 
flesh.  My  yearling  rams  usually  weigh  from  120  to 
180  pounds  each,  and  my  grown  rams  from  180  to 
250  pounds  each — some  of  them  have  weighed  over 
300  pounds  each,  but  these  were  unusually  large  and 
in  high  flesh  and  in  full  fleece.  I  have  had  ram  lambs 
weigh  120  pounds  at  seven  months  old,  but  they  were 
more  thrifty,  fleshy,  and  larger  than  usual  at  that  age. 

"  As  you  request  the  height  from  the  -top  of  the 
shoulder  to  the  gronnd,  I  have  measured  some  of 
those  of  medium,  height,  and  find  that  yearling  ewes 
run  from  26  to  28  inches,  the  grown  ewes  from  28  to 
30  inches,  the  yearling  rams  from  28  to  32  inches,  and 
the  grown  rams  from  30  to  34  inches.  You  also  in- 
quire the  color  of  the  great  body  of  French  sheep, 
externally ;  what  color  the  wool  is  when  opened  on 
the  sheep,  whether  the  oil  in  the  wool  is  white  or  yel- 
low, and  if  they  exhibit  much  gum  2 

"  When  running  out  and  exposed  to  the  storms,  thej 
are,  as  a  whole,  light-colored  when  compared  with  the 
Spanish  Merinos,  for  the  reason  that  they  have  much 
less  yolk  or  gum  in  their  fleeces,  besides  their  oil  or 
yolk  is  more  of  a  soap-like  substance,  and  separates 
from  their  wool  so  readily  that  the  rains  will  wash 
their  surface  comparatively  clean,  leaving  them  light- 


OD  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

colored,  while  the  oil  or  gum  of  the  Spanish  Merino 
is  so  adhesive  and  sticky  it  is  difficult,  and  in  many 
of  them  impossible,  to  wash  it  out  of  their  wool  by 
ordinary  brook-washing ;  and  as  it  is  the  yolk  or  oily 
matter  contained  in  the  fleece,  causing  the  dnst  ancl 
other  matter  to  adhere  to  it,  which  gives  the  external 
color,  the  Spanish  Merinos  are  generally  darker  on  the 
surface  than  the  French,  and  it  is  this  excess  of  oil  in 
the  Spanish  Merino  which  causes  their  fleeces  to  lose 
so  large  a  percentage  in  weight  when  cleansed  for 
manuiacturers'  use.  Experiments  made  with  the  two 
kinds  of  wool,  by  reliable  and  experienced  manufac- 
turers have  proved  that  as  much  cloth  can  be  made  of 
the  same  number  of  pounds  of -unwashed  French 
Merino  wool  as  can  be  made  of  an  equal  number  of 
pounds  of  brook-washed  Spanish  Merino  wool  in  the 
condition  it  is  usually  sold. 

"  In  answer  to  your  inquiry  as  to  the  color  of  the 
wool  of  the  French  sheep  when  opened  on  the  back, 
and  if  their  oil  is  white  or  yellow,  I  would  say  their 
wool  is  generally  of  a  cream-color,  or  has  a  yellowish 
cast,  and  the  oil  or  yolk  in  their  fleece  is  a  similar 
color  ;  still,  when  washed,  their  wool  is  of  a  pure 
white. 

"  The  wool  of  some  of  the  French  sheep  is  naturally 
quite  white  when  opened  on  the  body,  without  being 
washed  ;  but  I  have  invariably  found  those  having  the 
whitish  wool  (when  alike  in  other  respects)  were  the 
lightest  shearers."* 

The  following  statement  of  E.  L.  Gage,  of  De 
Buyter,  N.  Y.  (made  in  behalf  of  his  father  and 
himself),  contains  interesting  details  in  respect  to  the 
management  of  these  sheep,  by  persons  whose  skill 
and  success  in  that  particular  have  not  been  ex- 
celled : 

*  This  letter  is  dated  January  11,  1862. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  87 

"  We  bred  French  sheep,  from  September,  1852, 
till  February,  1861.  Our  first  purchase  was  of  John 
A.  Taintor,  of  Hartford,  Conn.  We  have  since 
bought  of  John  D.  Patterson,  of  Westfield,  Chautau- 
qua  Co.,  !N".  Y.,  and  F.  M.  Kotch,  Morris,  Otsego  Co., 
]N .  Y.  About  forty  is  the  most  we  had  at  any  one 
time. 

"  The  average  weight  of  the  ewes'  fleeces  was  10 
Ibs.  X8  ozs.,-well  washed. 

"  In  addition  to  hay  in  winter,  we  fed  them  about 
a  pint  of  a  mixture  of  grain  and  roots  each  per 
day. 

"  We  also  fed  a  small  amount  of  grain  in  summer, 
to  attract  them  to  the  barn  at  night  for  their  safety 
from  dogs. 

"  They  were  always  kept  housed  in  winter,  except 
on  clear  days,  when  they  were  allowed  to  go  out  or  in 
at  will.  They  were  also  allowed  to  go  into  the  shed 
at  will  in  summer. 

"  The  French  Merinos  always  afforded  us  good  re- 
turns in  wool  and  lambs.  The  ewes  were  good  nurses, 
often  bearing  twins.  Our  full-grown  rams  weighed 
from  180  to  225  pounds ;  the  ewes  from  125  to  170 
pounds. 

"  We  sold  our  entire  flock  of  French  Merinos  and 
crosses  to  J.  D.  Patterson,  Esq.,  last  winter. 

"  We  have  now  commenced  a  flock  of  pure  blood 
Spanish  Merinos  of  the  Atwood  and  Hammond  stock, 
and  have  about  fifty  in  all. 

"  With  the  experience  we  have  in  both  breeds,  it  is 
our  impression  that  the  Spanish  are  the  most  profita- 
ble for  all  classes  of  wool  growers,  and  will  keep  in 
better  condition  on  short  keep  and  rough  usage ;  but 
it  always  paid  us  better  to  keep  well  than  poorly. 
Part  of  our  Spanish  ewes  sheared  last  spring  6  Ibs. 
washed,  and  a  part  8  Ibs.  4  oz.  unwashed.  I  think  by- 
good  breeding  and  care  a  few  generations,  we  can  in- 


88  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

crease  the  heft  very  much.     I  enclose  two  samples  of 
wool,  from  two  of  the  ewes."* 

I  subsequently  inquired  of  these  gentlemen  whether 
their  French  sheep  were  driven  to  the  barns  at  night, 
and  in  rain  storms  in  summer,  or  if  they  went  there 
without  driving.  Their  reply  was,  that  they  some- 
times drove  them  in  during  cold  rain  storms  in  the 
fall,  but  otherwise  not ;  that,  however,  the  sheep  gen- 
erally went  under  shelter  at  all  times  when  wetted  by 
rain ;  that  in  fair  nights  they  "  seemed  to  prefer  sleep- 
ing out  in  the  yards."  The  means  used  to  guard  them 
against  dogs,  brought  them  also  to  sleep  on  the  dry 
straw  of  the  barnyard,  instead  of  the  damp  sod  of  the 
pasture. 

Introduction  of  the  Silesian  Merino, 

Still  another  Eichmond  was  to  appear  in  the  field 
of  competition — the  exquisitely  wooled  Silesian  Me- 
rino. The  following  account  of  its  introduction  and 
characteristics,  is  contained  in  a  letter  to  me  from  the 
principal  importer  of  the  variety,  William  Chamber- 
lain, Esq.,  of  Red  Hook,  New  York.  He  writes : 

"  Your  favor,  dated  24th  ult.,  is  received,  and  it 
gives  me  pleasure  to  furnish  the  required  information 
in  regard  to  my  flock  of  Silesian  sheep,  with  full  lib- 
erty to  make  such  use  of  the  facts  as  you  please. 

"  1st.  I  have  made  importations  for  myself  and 
George  Campbell  of  Silesian  sheep,  as  follows : 

In  the  year  1851,  say 40  ewes  and  15  bucks. 

"    1853,  " 21     "    4  " 

"    1854,  " Ill     "   13  " 

"    1856,  " 34     "    2  " 

212     "   34 
*  This  letter  is  dated  January  2,  1862. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  89 

"  In  1854: 1  visited  Silesia  and  made  the  purchases 
myself. 

"  2d.  The  sheep  were  bred  by  Louis  Fischer,  of 
"Wirchenblatt,  Silesia,  except  a  few  which  were  bred 
by  his  near  neighbor,  Baron  "Weidebach,  who  used 
Fischer's  breeders. 

3d.  Their  origin  is  Spain.  In  1811,  Ferdinand  Fis- 
cher, the  father  of  Louis  Fischer,  the  present  owner  of 
the  flock,  visited  Spain  himself  and  purchased  one 
hundred  of  the  best  ewes  he  could  find  of  the  Infan- 
tado  flocks,  and  four  bucks  from  the  Nigretti  flock, 
and  took  them  home  with  him  to  Silesia,  and  up 
to  the  present  day  they  have  not  been  crossed  with 
any  other  flocks  or  blood,  but  they  have  been  crossed 
within  the  families.  The  mode  pursued  is  to  number 
every  sheep,  and  give  the  same  number  to  all  her  in- 
crease ;  an  exact  record  is  kept  in  books,  and  thus  Mr. 
Fischer  is  enabled  to  give  the  pedigree  of  every  sheep 
he  owns,  running  back  to  1811,  which  is  positive  proof 
of  their  entire  purity  of  blood.  The  sheep  are  perhaps 
not  as^  large  as  they  would  be  if  a  little  other  blood 
were  infused ;  but  Mr.  Fischer  claims  that  entire  pu- 
rity of  blood  is  indispensably  necessary  to  insure  uni- 
formity of  improvement  when  crossed  on  ordinary 
wool  grower's  flocks ;  and  such  is  the  general  opinion 
of  wool  growers  in  Germany,  Poland,  and  Russia, 
which  enables  Mr.  Fischer  to  sell  at  high  prices  as 
many  bucks  and  ewes  as  he  can  spare ;  and  as  he  and 
his  father  have  enjoyed  this  reputation  for  so  many 
years,  I  am  fully  of  opinion  that  he  is  right.  From 
these  facts  you  will  observe  that  my  sheep  are  pure 
Spanish. 

"  4th.  Medium  aged  ewes  shear  from  8  to  11 
pounds;  bucks  from  12  to  16  pounds ;  but  in  regard 
to  ewes,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  they  drop  their 
lambs  from  November  to  February,  which  lightens 
the  clip  somewhat.  I  do  not  wash  my  sheep. 


00  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

"  5th.  I  have  sold  my  clip  from  30  to  45  cents,  ac- 
cording to  the  market. 

"  6th.  We  have  measured  the  wool  on  quite  a  num- 
ber of  sheep,  and  find  it  from  one  and  a  half  to  two 
inches  long,  say  eight  months'  growth ;  but  I  have  no 
means  of  knowing  what  it  would  be  at  twelve  months' 
growth. 

"  7th.  Their  external  color  is  dark.  The  wool  has 
oil,  but  no  gum  whatever,  they  having  been  bred  so 
as  to  make  them  entirely  free  from  gum — German, 
manufacturers  always  insisting  on  large  deductions  in 
the  price  of  wool  where  gum  is  found. 

"  8th.  As  above  stated,  the  Silesians  have  oil,  but 
no  gum,  like  what  are  sold  for  Spanish  and  French, 
and  the  oil  is  white  and  free ;  the  wool  does  not  stick 
together. 

"  9th.  "We  have  weighed  five  ewes.  Three  dropped 
their  lambs  last  month  ;  the  other  two  have  not  yet 
come  in.  Their  weights  are  115,  140,  130,  115,  and 
127  pounds;  three  bucks, weighing  severally  145, 158, 
155  pounds ;  one  yearling  buck  weighing  130  potunds; 
but  this  would  be  more  than  an  average  weight  of  my 
flock  when  young  and  very  old  sheep  were  brought 
into  the  average.  My  sheep  are  only  in  fair  condi- 
tion, as  I  feed  no  grain.  They  have  beets,  which  I 
consider  very  good  for  milk,  but  not  so  good  for  flesh 
as  grain. 

"  10th  and  llth.  For  the  first  time  my  shepherd 
has  measured  some  sheep  ;  ewes  from  24  to  28  inches 
high,  fore-leg  11  to  12  inches ;  bucks,  27  to  28  inches 
high,  fore-leg  12  to  13£  inches. 

"  12th.  We  find  the  Silesian  hardy,  much  more  so 
than  a  small  flock  of  coarse  mutton  sheep  that  I  keep 
and  treat  quite  as  well  as  I  do  the  Silesians. 

"  13th.  They  are  first-rate  breeders  and  nurses. 

•"  Some  of  these  facts  I  have  given  on  the  statement 
of  my  shepherd,  Carl  Hyne,  who  was  one  of  Mr.  Fis- 
cher's shepherds,  and  came  home  with  the  sheep  I 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  91 

purchased  in  1854,  and  a  man  whose  honor  and  in- 
tegrity I  can  fully  indorse. 

"My  sheep  do  not  deteriorate  in  this  country,  but 
the  wool  rather  grows  finer  without  any  reduction  in 
the  weight  of  fleece."* 

In  a  subsequent  letter  Mr.  Chamberlain  writes : 

"  Carl  has  weighed  a  few  more  of  our  Silesian  sheep, 
and  their  weights  are  as  follows :  Four  full  aged  ewes, 
respectively,  120,  125,  107,  107  pounds;  two  ewe 
lambs,  90,  87  pounds ;  two  two-year  old  bucks,  124, 
122  pounds ;  one  three-fourths  blood,  143  pounds. 

"  I  attended  to  the  weighing  and  selection  myself, 
and  am  of  opinion  that  our  ewes  from  three  to  eight 
years  old  average  fully  115  pounds,  say  before  drop- 
ping their  lambs.  Our  younger  sheep  do  not  weigh 
as  much.  Silesians  do  not  get  their  full  size  till  four 
years  of  age,  and  after  eight  or  nine  years  they  are 
not  as  heavy.  *  *  *  Mr.  Fischer's  sheep  are  large, 
say  larger  than  any  flock  of  Vermont  Merinos  that  I 
have  seen.  *  *  *  I  have  the  lambs  come  from  No- 
vember to  March,  because  Carl  says  it  is  the  best  way, 
and  I  let  him  do  as  he  pleases.  *  *  *  The  ewes 
do  not  give  quit£  as  much  wool,  but  I  think  the  lambs 
make  stronger  sheep,  as  they  get  a  good  start  the  first 


Comparative  Profitableness  of  Varieties. 

Your  President  has  assigned  to  me  a  delicate  task 
under  this  head ;  but  I  shall  advance  upon  it  fearlessly, 
because  I  know  that  the  opinions  of  one  person,  if 
erroneous,  will  weigh  but  little  and  soon  be  corrected. 

With  an  experience  with  all  the  preceding  national 
varieties,  except  the  Prussian  or  Silesian  Merino,  quite 

*  This  letter  is  dated  January  6,  1862.  Mr.  Chamberlain's  residence 
is  reached  from  the  Hudson  Eiver  E.  E.  from  Tarrytown. 


92  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

sufficient  to  satisfy  myself  in  regard  to  their  respective 
qualities,  I  have  preferred  to  go  for  testimony  to 
others — to  the  principal  importers  and  the  most 
deeply  interested  owners  and  advocates  of  each 
variety — to  those  who,  by  common  consent,  have  the 
choicest  animals  of  each  ever  introduced  into  or  bred 
in  our  country. 

It  is  true  this  affords  a  view  only  of  the  best  ani- 
mals, but  these  are  the  ones  which  offer  the  most 
instructive  examples,  and  there  is  no  difficulty  in 
judging  from  them  downwards. 

The  American  (Spanish)  and  Saxon  varieties  were 
first  introduced  in  large  numbers,  and  will,  therefore, 
be  first  compared. 

There  was  no  time  after  1835  when  the  prime 
American  Merino  did  not  exceed  the  prime  Saxon 
Merino  .by  at  least  one  and  a  half  pounds  in  the 
weight  of  fleece'.  The  table  of  prices  shows  that 
before  and  subsequently  to  that  period,  the  average 
price  of  Saxon  wool  was  not  more  than  ten  cents 
higher  per  pound.  Between  1831  -and  1837,  when 
Saxon  wool  was  most  remunerative,  its  average  prices 
were  from  about  65  to  70  cents  per  pound.  If  we 
estimate  the  Saxon  fleece  at  three  pounds,  and  the 
American  fleece  at  four  and  a  half  pounds,  when  the 
first  was  worth  in  the  market  $2.10  the  latter  was 
worth  $2.70. 

The  Saxon  was  a  smaller  consumer  than  its  rival, 
because  a  smaller  sheep.  The  production  of  flesh 
and  other  animal  tissues  from  food,  is  a  process  regu- 
lated by  physiological  laws,  which  work  substantially 
alike  where  breed,  habits,  and  other  circumstances  are 
alike.  The  Merino  consumes  about  one-thirtieth  of 


FINE    WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  93 

its  own  weight  daily  of  good  hay  in  winter,  and  an 
equivalent  of  green  food  in  summer.  The  Saxon 
sheep  of  1840,  then,  consumed  about  two  and  a  half 
pounds  of  hay  daily,  and  the  American  about  three 
pounds — a  difference  of  75  pounds  in  favor  of  the 
former  during  the  150  days  of  a  New  York  winter. 
Hay  then  cost  about  $5  a  ton  at  the  barn,  and  pastur- 
age a  cent  a  week  for  a  sheep  of  either  variety  through 
the  remaining  225  days  of  the  year,  making  the  cost 
of  keeping  an  American  Merino  less  than  20  cents 
most  a  year. 

The  Saxon  required  much  more  care  and  attention, 
and  better  winter  shelter.  In  ordinary  hands  it 
reared  20  per  centum  less  of  good  lambs.*  Finally, 
the  American  Merino  fatted  as  easily  as  the  Saxon, 
made  as  good  mutton,  and  produced  more  of  it. 

In  the  interior  and  wool  growing  regions  proper  of 
'New  York,  hay  for  the  last  few  years  has  usually 
averaged  about  $6  a  ton  in  value  at  the  barn,  and 
pasture  costs  through  the  season  about  two  cents  a 
head  per  week  for  sheep.  "Were  the  prices  of  both 
doubled,  it  is  obvious  that  the  American  Merino 
would  continue  vastly  the  most  profitable  sheep,  par- 
ticularly if  the  increase  in  its  fleece  since  1840  is 
taken  into  account. 

The  French  Merino  spread  with  great  rapidity 
throughout  the  Northern  States,  and  is  disappearing 
as  rapidly.  Our  farmers  have  obtained  the  impres- 
sion that  it  produces  less  wool  in  proportion  to  size 
and  consumption,  than  the  American  Merino,  wool 

*  I  say  "  good  lambs,"  because  many  of  the  small  and  feeble  lambs 
of  the  Saxon  sheep  perished  during  their  first  winter  when  eight  or 
nine  months  old. 


94  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

of  less  value,  and  that  it  is  essentially  a  weaker  and 
less  hardy  animal. 

Many  of  the  imported  sheep  of  this  variety,  as  well 
as  their  descendants,  did,  undeniably,  produce  very 
light  fleeces  in  proportion  to  carcass.  I  have  seen 
them  repeatedly  beaten,  fleece  for  fleece,  by  little  com- 
pact American  Merinos  of  scarcely  half  their  size. 

It  is  true  also  of  the  best  of  them  that  their  fleeces 
are  much  lighter  in  proportion  to  mere  bulk  (that  is 
when  equal  force  is  applied  to  compress  the  fleece  in 
the  wool  press*),  than  those  of  the  American  variety. 
If  both  are  unwashed,  the  American  fleece  has  far 
most  yolk.  If  washed  equally  well,  the  American 
fleece  still  retains  far  more  of  that  substance.  Yolk 
is  mainly  an  animal  soap,  the  constituents  of  which 
will  presently  be  given,  but  it  contains  a  trace  of 
insoluble  fatty  matter.  "Whether  from  a  greater  pro- 
portion of  the  last,  or  for  some  other  cause,  the  yolk 
of  the  American  sheep  is  less  readily  liberated — it 
requires  more  previous  soaking — and  if  the  sheep  are 
put  dry  into  cold  brook  water,  and  not  kept  in  over 
long — the  fashionable  mode  of  washing  in  our  coun- 
try— the  French  Merino's  wool  is  nearly  as  free  from 
this  substance  before  it  goes  in,  as  that  of  a  class  of 
American  Merinos  is  when  they  come  out ;  and  ac- 
cording to  my  observation,  the  yolk  reappears  twice 
as  rapidly  in  the  American  fleece  after  washing.  In- 
deed this  must  be  true,  for  where  there  is  double  or 
treble  secretion  during  the  year,  the  process  of  secre- 
tion must  go  on  with  double  or  treble  rapidity ;  con- 
sequently, if  two  or  three  weeks  are  allowed  to 
intervene,  as  usual,  between  washing  and  shearing, 

*  See  Appendix  D. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  95 

and  if  the  weather  be  warm,  the  American  fleece 
again  becomes  lubricated  and  "  weighted"  with  yolk, 
while  the  French  fleece  remains  almost  as  dry  as 
cotton. 

In  one  respect,  certainly  the  American  fleece  de- 
rives a  purely  legitimate  advantage  from  these  facts. 
"With  the  rapid  return  of  the  yolk  comes  the  rapid 
return  of  lustre  and  the  characteristic  silkiness  of 
handling  so  much  prized  by  -buyers. 

I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  wholly  independently 
of  all  extraneous  matter,  the  actual  fibre  of  the  Amer- 
ican wool,  if  we  could  weigh  exactly  equal  quanti- 
ties of  each,  would  be  found  heaviest.  The  bones, 
muscles,  skin,  and  other  animal  tissues  of  a  small 
animal,  even  of  the  same  species,  are  less  porous  and, 
to  use  the  familiar  term,  finer-grained  than  those  of 
animals  fifty  per  cent,  larger.  Wool  and  hair  closely 
assimilate  in  their  organic  constituents  with  these  sub- 
stances.* I  know  no  reason,  therefore,  why  an  anal- 
ogous decrease  of  density  should  not  extend  to  the 
wool  and  hair  of  the  larger  animal. 

But  without  taking  such  refinements  into  the  ac- 
count, and  to  sum  up  the  matter,  the  American  far 
excels  the  French  Merino  in  the  combined  production 
of  wool  and  yolk  /  and  as  yolk  is  allowed  to  be  a 
marketable  commodity,  the  mass  of  our  farmers  pre- 

*  Analyses  made  by  Liebig,  Johnston,  Scherer,  Playfair,  Boeckman, 
and  Mulder,  prove  that  the  organic  part  of  wool,  hair,  skin,  nails,  horns, 
feathers,  lean  meat,  blood,  etc.,  are  very  nearly  the  same.  The  or- 
ganic part  of  wool,  according  to  Johnston,  consists  of  carbon  50.65 ; 
hydrogen,  7.03;  nitrogen,  17.71;  oxygen  and  sulphur,  24.61.  The 
inorganic  constituents  are  small.  "When  burned  it  leaves  but  2.0  per 
cent,  of  ash.  (See  Liebig' s  Agricultural  Chemistry,  Appendix;  and 
Johnston's  Agricultural  Chemistry,  Lecture  XVIII.} 


96  FINE    WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

fer  the  sheep  which  produces  it  in  greatest  abundance. 
But  in  the  production  of  pure  wool,  my  own  opinion 
is  that  the  heaviest  fleeced  animals  of  the  two  varie- 
ties do  not  materially  differ — not  more  perhaps  than 
is  inevitable,  other  things  being  equal — by  reason  of 
that  law  of  matter  which  gives  small  spherical  bodies 
more  surface  in  proportion  to  weight  and  diameter 
than  larger  ones.  The  carcass  of  a  sheep  has  sufficient 
sphericity  to  make  this  law  applicable  to  it.  A  better 
idea  of  its  practical  effects  will  be  obtained  from  an 
examination  of  the  following  table,  prepared  in  rela- 
tion to  round  shot : 

Diameter  in  "Weight  in  Surfaces  in  Inches  of  surface  to 

inches.  pounds.  inches.  one  pound  weight. 

2 1,092 12.56636 11.50 

3 3,685 28.27431 7.69 

4 8,736 50.26544 5.75 

5 17',063 78.53975 4.60 

6 29,484 113.09724 3.83 

•7 46,820 153-93791 3.28 

8 69,889 201.06176 2.81 

It  will  be  observed  that  while  the  disparity  in  pro- 
portionable surface  between  the  extremes  given,  is 
enormous,  that  it  diminishes  as  between  larger  spheres. 
But  notwithstanding  this,  all  must  see  that  between 
spheroidal  bodies  differing  fifty  per  centum  in  size 
and  weight  (equivalent  to  the  difference  between  the 
French  and  American  Merino),  the  greater  propor- 
tionable surface  of  the  smaller  body  must  be  sufficient 
to  make  a  material  difference  in  its  favor  if  that  sur- 
face is  to  be  covered  with  wool  of  equal  thickness 
and  length.  To  express  the  result  more  practically, 
the  American  Merino  has  more  square  inches  of  sur- 
face, in  proportion  to  its  size,  for  wool  to  grow  on, 
than  has  the  larger  French  Merino.  And  the  general 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY.  97 

deduction  is,  the  smaller  the  sheep  the  larger  the  pro- 
portionable surface. 

The  popular  impression,  that  American  wool  is  finer 
and  better  than  French  wool,  is,  in  my  judgment, 
based  on  an  unequal  and  unfair  mode  of  comparison. 
The  best  American  wool  is  unquestionably  finer, 
evener,  softer,  more  glossy  and  more  "  stylish"  than 
any  French  wool  brought  into  our  country.  I  have 
not  a  doubt  either  that  it  is  denser  in  its  substance 
and  stronger  in  proportion  to  its  diameter.  My  prize 
ram  which  I  offered  to  show  against  Mr.  Collins's  im- 
ported "  Grandee,"*  not  only  excelled,  but,  in  sports- 
men's phrase,  distanced  the  latter  in  fineness,  trueness, 
and  soundness  of  wooLf  Granting  frankly  that  the 

*  This  offer  was  made  in  1844,  extending  to  a  ram  and  a  pen  of  ewes 
(Mr.  0.  to  name  amount  sweepstakes),  in  consequence  of  the  offensive 
and  purely  unprovoked  attacks  made  for  months  in  succession  on  our 
American  Merinos  by  an  able  public  writer,  who,  at  the  same  time, 
warmly  championed  the  French  sheep.  Now  that  Mr.  Collins  is  dead, 
I  feel  bound  to  say  that  I  have  no  idea  he  countenanced  those  attacks. 
Indeed,  I  believe  that  he  subsequently  said  as  much  to  me.  But  en- 
gaged, perhaps,  in  his  ocean-steamer  plans,  and  in  his  very  large  busi- 
ness transactions,  he  probably  gave  but  little  attention  to  the  subject. 
At  the  time  I  thought  his  suffering  these  attacks  so  long  to  appear 
without  public  or  private  disclaimer,  authorized  any  owner  of  American 
Merinos  to  make  the  above  challenge.  He  did  not  accept  it,  and  the 
sheep  sent  to  meet  his  were  easily  victorious  over  all  other  competitors 
at  the  State  Fair. 

f  The  diameter  and  trueness  of  their  wool  were  tested  with  an  ad- 
mirable compound  Chevalier  microscope,  by  Ebenezer  Emmons,  M.  D., 
one  of  the  State  Geologists,  and  that  one  having  the  agricultural  sur- 
vey of  the  State  under  his  supervision.  His  skill  and  accuracy  in 
such  gttosi-scientific  manipulations  will  be  questioned  by  no  well  in- 
formed gentleman.  See  his  original  statements  in  American  Quarterly 
Journal  of  Agriculture,  1845,  and  also  in  Sheep  Husbandry  in  the 
South,  p.  135,  aria1  a  reply  containing  further  explanations,  in  American 
Quarterly  Journal  of  Agriculture,  1846,  p.  290.  The  diameter  of 

5 


98  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

former  was  an  animal  of  decidedly  exceptional  quali- 
ties, I  feel  authorized  to  say  that  Grandee  would  have 
passed  for  a  coarsish-fleeced  animal  in  any  really  fine 
full-blood  American  Merino  flock  of  that  day.  And 
I  believe  that  no  one  pretends  that  the  modern  im- 
portations of  French  sheep  exhibit  any  improvement 
on  Mr.  Collins's  in  respect  to  quality  of  wool. 

But  the  really  good  sheep  of  the  later  French  im- 
portations were  selected  in  France  for  a  specific  object 
— for  the  purpose  of  attaining  the  greatest  amount  of 
wool  of  a  fair  medium  grade  of  fineness.  To  make  the 
comparison  even,  we  must  select  American  Merinos 
which  have  been  bred  and  pampered  for  the  same  ob 
ject — the  production  of  the  heaviest  fleece.  And  it  is 
my  opinion  that  in  these  classes  the  French  wool  is  at 
least  as  good  as  the  American. 

The  only  really  weak  point  of  the  best  French  Me- 
rino as  a  pure  wool  producing  animal,  is  the  want  of 
that  hardiness  which  adapts  it  to  our  changeable  cli- 
mate and  to  our  systems  of  husbandry.  In  this  par- 
ticular it  is  to  the  American  Merino  what  the  great 
pampered  Short-Horn  of  England  is  to  the  little, 
hardy,  black  cattle  of  the  Scotch  Highlands— what 
the  high-fed  carnage  horse,  sixteen  hands  high? 
groomed  and  attended  in  a  wainscoted  stable,  is  to  the 
Sheltie  that  feeds  among  the  moors  and  mosses,  and 
defies  the  tempests  of  the  Orkneys.  The  French  sheep 
has  not  only  been  highly  kept  and  housed  from  storm 
and  rain  and  dew  for  generations,  but  it  has  been  bred 
away  from  the  normal  type  of  its  race.  The  Dishley 

"Grandee's"  wool  was  more  than  double  that  of  "  Premium's,"  while  a 
single  fibre  of  the  former  supported  84.6  grains,  and  "Premium's" 
wool  broke  with  57.1  grains. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  99 

sheep  of  Mr.  Bakewell  are  not  a  more  artificial  variety, 
and  all  highly  artiticial  varieties  become  comparatively 
delicate  in  constitution. 

The  following  frank  and  well  considered  opinions 
on  this  subject  are  from  the  pen  of  Colonel  F.  M. 
Rotch,  of  Morris,  Otsego  County,  1ST.  Y.,  who  imported 
some  of  these  sheep  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Taintor 
in  1851,  and  who,  a  few  years  since,  had  a  most  ad- 
mirable nock  of  them.  He  writes  me : 

*  *  *  *  «  France  I  visited  two  or  three  times 
with  a  view  to  importing  Merinos,  and  sent  out  to 
Mr.  Taintor  quite  a  number  of  the  French  variety. 

"  The  French  Merinos  of  the  first  class  are  certainly 
superb  sheep,  but  they  vary  there  as  they  do  here — a 
few  flocks,  say  half  a  dozen,  being  very  superior,  and 
then  comes  a  number  of  mediocre  flocks  where  neither 
the  care  nor  expense  nor  knowledge  are  bestowed,  and 
where  the  sheep  more  closely  resemble  the  old  Spanish 
type.  You  ask  me  my  opinion  of  the  French,  as 
suited  to  our  rough  farming.  I  don't  think  them  at 
all  fitted  to  it.  Though  a  vigorous,  good  constitu- 
tioned  and  hardy  sheep,  they  are  accustomed  to  too 
much  care  and  watchfulness  in  their  native  land  to  be 
able  to  endure  the  rough-and-tumble  style  of  much  of 
our  farming.  The  north  side  of  a  barn  and  the  lee  of 
a  rail  fence  for  animals  that  are  housed  every  night 
in  the  year  at  home,  is  too  sudden  and  great  a  change. 
With  proper  care  they  are  able  to  endure  even  our 
vicissitudes  of  climate,  and  thrive  and  grow  fat  here 
as  in  France ;  but  like  all  improved  breeds  of  domestic 
animals,  it  is  folly  to  expect  them  to  do  well  without 
care  or  feeding.  Any  animal  brought  from  a  state  of 
high  cultivation  and  a  mild  temperature,  to  a  colder 
climate  and  poorer  soil,  will  deteriorate  unless  extra 
pains  are  taken  to  supply  the  loss  of  care  and  coun- 
teract the  change  of  food.  During  the  dozen  years  I 


100  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

kept  French  Merinos,  I  gave  them  much  the  same 
care  they  had  in  their  own  country,  and  found  them 
to  thrive  and  breed  and  weigh  and  shear  as  they  did 
there,  almost.  The  long  winter  and  the  necessity  of 
feeding  dry  food  so  many  months,  told  upon  them 
somewhat.  They  are  good  breeders  and  nurses,  often 
having  twins  and  rearing  them  well.  As  a  cross  upon 
our  usual  type  of  Merino,  I  consider  them  very  valu- 
able, but  quite  unfit  for  the  general  use  as  a  stock 
sheep*  of  our  farmers  at  ^esent.  With  a  better  hus- 
bandry and  improved  shepherding,  they  may  one  of 
these  da}rs  take  their  place  among  us  as  a  breed ;  but 
now  their  crosses  are  what  we  must  look  to.  I  have 
no  data  that  I  can  lay  my  hand  upon  of  weights  of 
fleece  or  carcass,  nor  of  measurements.  I  sold  my 
whole  flock  some  six  years  ago  to  J.  D.  Patterson,  of 
Westfield,  who  has  now  no  doubt  the  finest  sheep  of 
thjs  breed  in  the  country."-)- 

It  will  be  observed  that  there  is  a  hint  of  the  want 
of  adaptation  in  these  sheep  to  our  climate  and  com- 
mon systems  of  husbandry  in  all  the  preceding  com- 
munications from  the  most  noted  breeders  of  them, 
except  Mr.  Patterson,  and  he  would  seem  to  make 
the  same  admission  by  implication  in  a  letter  which 
is  to  follow. ;f  It  may,  therefore,  be  assumed  to  be  a 
conceded  and  settled  fact. 

Another  point  seems  equally  clear,  that  the  inferior 
sheep  of  the  variety  are  not  like  inferior  American 
Merinos,  still  hardy  and  still  valuable,  but  almost 
utterly  worthless.  This  is  a  disadvantage  which  al- 

*  This  letter  was  dated  January  13,  1862. 
•J-  By  stock  sheep  I  mean  the  main  body  of  a  flock, 
\  Perhaps  I  should  hardly  use  the  word  "  admission,"  for  Mr.  E.  L. 
Gage,  of  De  Ruyter,  informs  me  that  Mr.  Patterson  makes  no  secret 
of  such  views.    If  he  did  not  state  them  explicitly  to  me,  it  was  be- 
cause he  was  not  questioned. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  101 

ways  attends  highly  artificial  varieties  and  families. 
What  so  weak,  worthless  and  miserable  as  a  bad 
family  of  Short-Horns  or  a  bad  family  of  Dishley 
sheep ! 

In  giving  my  opinion  of  the  comparative  profitable- 
ness of  the  best  French  and  the  best  American  Meri- 
nos, I  will  adopt  the  language  of  the  most  noted  public 
advocate  of  the  former,  Mr.  A.  B.  Allen.  He  recently 
wrote  to  me : 

"  The  hardy  American  Merino,  properly  selected 
(mind  that,  properly  selected?),  is  undoubtedly  best  for 
the  ordinary  sheep  master,  and  most  profitable  as  a 
wool  producer." 

This  by  no  means,  however,  establishes  the  fact  that 
the  French  Merino  is  without  high  value  in  our  coun- 
try. Col.  Rotch's  remarks  in  favor  of  a  cross  between 
that  and  the  American  Merino  have  been  noted.  Mr* 
Patterson,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry  on  that  subject, 
writes  to  me : 

"  I  have  tried  the  cross  between  the  French  and 
Spanish  [American]  Merinos,  and  succeeded  beyond 
my  expectations.  Indeed,  as  a  wool  growing  sheep 
in  the  hands  of  most  fanners,  and  to  be  kept  as  sheep 
are  generally  kept  throughout  the  country,  I  have  never 
seen  a  stock  which  I  thought  as  profitable,  both  for 
wool-grower  and  manufacturer.  *  *  *  I  have  bred 
them  since  1848,  and  for  the  last  ten  years  I  have  hud 
more  of  this  kind  than  all  others,  although  I  have 
always  kept  a  flock  of  pure  Spanish,  and  have  always 
put  French  rams  to  my  French  ewes,  making  my  cross 
by  putting  French  rams  to  my  Spanish  ewes,  not  that 
I  think  that  principle  of  breeding  the  best,  but  it  costs 
much  less  money  to  do  it.  'And  while  this  cross  with 
me  has  always  been  a  very  profitable  wool-growing 


102  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

sheep,  I  can  also  say  I  have  seen  crosses  from  these 
long-legged,  slab-sided,  narrow-chested  French  rams  as 
miserable  and  worthless  as  can  be  imagined." 

My  own  experiments  in  this  cross,  candor  requires 
me  to  say,  have  been  less  successful.  Some  of  them 
were  made  with  a  ram  bred  by' Col.  Rotch  and  pure 
blood  American  Merino  ewes ;  some  were  purchased 
of  gentlemen  who  started  with  such  ewes  and  bred 
them  to  first-rate  French  rams  obtained  of  Messrs. 
Taintor  and  Patterson ;  and  some  were  got  by  pure 
American  rams  on  high  grade  French  and  American 
ewes  (averaging  say  fifteen-sixteenths  or  more  French, 
and  the  remainder  American  Merino-  blood).  From 
this  last  cross  I  expected  much.  The  ewes  were  com- 
pact and  noble-looking  animals.  The  produce  was 
obviously  better  than  the  get  of  French  rams  on  the 
•same  ewes ;  but  after  watching  it  for  two  years,  I  have 
recently  come  rather  reluctantly  to  the  conclusion  that, 
in  this  climate,  even  these  grades  are  not  intrinsically 
as  valuable  as  pure  American  Merinos. 

But  the  Merino  ram  which  got  them,  though  appar- 
ently presenting  the  most  admirable  combination  of 
points  for  such  a  cross,*  has  not  proved  himself  a  su- 
perior sire  with  other  ewes  ;  and  I  do  not,  therefore, 
regard  this  experiment  as  conclusive. 

Some  well-managed  experiments  of  both  these  kinds 
have  been  tried  by  the  Messrs.  Baker,  of  Lafayette, 
and  the  Messrs.  Clapp,  of  Pompey,  !N"ew  York.  They 

*  He  weighed  about  140  Ibs.,  was  compact  and  symmetrical,  and 
his  fleece  weighed  14  Ibs.  washed.  •  He  was  a  very  dark,  yolky  sheep. 
He  was  bred  in  Vermont ;  and  though  undoubtedly  full  blood,  prob- 
ably did  not  spring  from  ancestors  as  good  as  himself  or  in  other 
words,  he  was  an  "  accidental"  animal. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  103 

bred  towards  the  French  until  they  obtained  about 
fifteen-sixteenths  of  that  blood,  and  now  find  the  cross 
best  the  other  way.  One  of  the  last  of  these  crosses 
now  appears  to  promise  extremely  well.* 

While  the  breeder  of  pure  blood  American  Merinos 
has  no  occasion,  in  my  judgment,  to  change  them  by 
a  cross  with  any  other  variety,  I  at  the  same  time  be- 
lieve that  the  owner  of  the  mixed  French  and  Ameri- 
can varieties  has  no  occasion  to  despair  of  obtaining, 
at  least,  a  most  excellent  and  valuable  sub-variety,  if 
his  crosses  are  judiciously  made.  There  is  a  "debata- 
ble land"  between  the  mutton  and  wool  producing 
regions  where  these  crossed  sheep,  or  where  the  full 
blood  French  sheep  may  prove  the  most  profitable 
variety.  Even  the  latter  demand  no  more  feed  or 
care  than  the  high-bred  mutton  varieties ;  they  are 
probably  about  as  good  nurses  ;  and  they  will  yield  a 
large  quantity  of  meat,  and  meat  of  a  quality  which 
always  commands  a  ready  sale  in  our  markets.  Their 
annual  product  of  wool  would  be  far  more  valuable 
than  that  of  any  mutton  variety.  Their  want  of  early 
maturity,  as  I  shall  presently  show,  would  be  no  ob- 
jection to  them  in  such  situations. 

In  France,  where  both  mutton  and  forage  are 
worth  twice  as  much  as  in  our  country,  the  French 
Merino  holds  its  ground  against  the  best  long  and 
middle  wooled  sheep  brought  from  England. 

It  has  another  valuable  place  to  fill,  namely :  on 
farms  where  surplus  capital  keeps  up  high  systems  of 
husbandry,  is  lavish  in  erecting  structures,  and  em- 

*  Particularly  the  get  of  a  choice  old  ram  known  as  the  "  Lucius 
Itobinson"  ram,  one  of  the  best  sire  rams  ever  got  by  the  "  Old  Robin- 
son" ram. 


104  FINE   WOOL   SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

ploys  an  abundance  of  labor.  These  establishments 
of  the  wealthy  are  constantly  increasing  in  our  coun- 
try, especially  m  the  vicinity  of  cities  and  villages. 
In  such  situations  the  stately  French  sheep  ought  to 
be  and  will  be,  if  fairly  tried,  a  favorite  and  a  profita- 
ble animal. 

It  is  a  misfortune  to  us  as  a  farming  people,  that, 
growing  up  without"  the  local  traditions  and  preju- 
dices so  common  in  older  nations,  we  have  no  dams 
and  bulkheads  to  arrest  the  currents  of  fashion ;  and 
if  a  fashion  becomes  established  by  the  acceptance  of 
a  majority,  it  must  sweep  from  the  centre  to  the  cir- 
cumference, embracing  all  places  and  persons.  Are 
the  agricultural  interests  of  a  majority  necessarily 
those  of  the  whole  ?  Are  the  same  cattle  and  crops 
equally  adapted  to  all  soils  and  climates  and  markets  ? 
Must  every  change  in  our  agriculture  assume  the 
form  of  a  mcwiia,  and  sacrifice  every  thing  that  does 
not  jump  with  its  humor  ?  It  is  time  for  us  to  aban- 
don such  follies. 

American  and  Silesian  Merino. 

Between  the  Silesian  sheep  and  the  preceding 
varieties,  it  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  necessary  to 
institute  any  extended  comparison.  Like  the  Ameri- 
can Merino,  it  is  the  Spanish  sheep  materially  im- 
proved, but  not,  like  the  French  and  Saxon  sheep, 
bred  away  widely  from  the  characteristic  features  of 
the  original  race.  It  is  simply  an  exquisitely  high 
bred  Spanish  sheep,  of  pure  and  undoubted  descent, 
bred  for  fifty  years  to  a  particular  model  by  two 
breeders,  a  father  and  son.  Its  fleece  is  decidedly 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  105 

superior  in  quality  to  that  of  any  Merino,  except  the 
Saxon,  ever  brought  into  or  bred  in  our  country. 
The  weight  of  that  fleece  has  been  stated  by  Mr. 
Chamberlain.  "Wherever  it  is  most  profitable  to  grow 
really  Jme  wool,  this  variety  ought  to  stand  unrivalled. 
And  I  cannot  entertain  a  doubt  that  there  will 
always  be  sufficient  demand  in  the  United  States  for 
such  wool,  to  make  large  flocks  of  these  Silesian 
sheep  profitable.  If  our  broadcloth  manufactures 
should  revive,  as  it  is  to  be  hoped  they  will,  it  will 
add  immensely  to  the  call  for  this  class  of  wool. 

"Where  it  is  desirable  to  make  crosses  between 
Merinos  and  coarse  breeds,  or  to  add  to  the  fineness 
and  evenness  of  coarse  families  of  Merinos,  these 
sheep  would  seem  well  fitted  to  the  object. 

Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  examined  Mr. 
Chamberlain's  imported  flock  and  their  descendants, 
in  his  possession.  My  impressions  of  the  admirable 
quality  and  uniformity  of  their  fleeces  is  fully  con- 
firmed. Most  of  the  lambs  were  dropped  when  I 
saw  them  (Feb.  10th),  and  the  ewes  appear  to  be 
excellent  nurses.  Their  carcasses  are  round,  and  of 
good  shape.  Some  of  them  are  taller  in  proportion 
to  weight  than  I  consider  desirable — because  the 
German  breeders  pay  less  attention  to  this  point — but 
this  tendency  could  be  promptly  changed  without 
going  out  of  the  flock  for  rams.  I  know  not  why 
there  is  so  prevalent  an  idea  that  they  are  small 
sheep.  They  are  at  least  as  large  as  the  ordinary 
American  Merino.  They  are  entirely  free  from  gum 
within  the  wool,  but  are  exceedingly  yolky  and  dark 
colored.  They  are  housed  in  the  winter  and  at  night 
throughout  the  summer,  to  protect  them  from  dogs 
5* 


106  FINE  WOOL  SHEEP  HUSBANDRY. 

and  to  preserve  their  dark  color.  They  are  managed 
with  great  skill  by  the  shepherd,  and  under  admirable 
arrangements,  but  are  not  pampered  in  respect  to 
feed. 

Crossing. 

Crossing  or  intermixing  different  breeds,  or  differ- 
ent varieties  of  the  same  breed,  has  been  dabbled  in 
by  everybody.  ^ 

The  French  attempted  the  first,  and  proclaimed  to 
the  world  that  the  produce  of  the  fourth  cross  be- 
tween the  Merino  and  coarse  sheep  (breeding  towards 
the  Merino)  was  as  good  a  wool- bearing  sheep,  and 
as  valuable  for  deeding  purposes  as  the  full  blood 
Merino.* 

Dr.  Parry,  of  England,  tried  two  or  three  crosses, 
and  with  the  bustling  officiousness  and  absurd  as- 
surance of  a  new  beginner,  filled  the  agricultural  pub- 
lications of  England  with  statements  that  he  had  al- 
ready surpassed  the  pure  Merino  wool  in  quality,  and 
had  actually  injured  the  produce  of  his  grade  ewes 

*  NT.  Livingston  says  :  "  Having  mentioned  Dr.  Parry's  concur- 
rence with  the  French  agriculturists  in  the  opinion  that  the  breed  is 
completely  changed  hi  the  fourth  generation,  I  should  add,"  <fcc."  (Es- 
say, p.  133).  *  *  *  "  The  French  agriculturists  say  that  how- 
ever course  the  fleece  of  the  parent  ewe  may  have  been,  the  progeny 
in  the  fourth  generation  will  not  show  it."  (Page  133.)  *  *  * 
"  It  is  now  so  well  established  as  not  even  to  admit  of  the  smallest 
doubt,  that  a  Merino  in  the  fourth  generation,  from  even  the  worst 
wooled  ewes,  is  in  every  respect  equal  to  the  stock  of  the  sire.  No 
difference  is  now  made  in  Europe  in  tHe  choice  of  a  ram,  whether  Jteis  a, 
full  blood  or  fifteen-sixteenths.'1''  (Page  131.) 

If  this  last  assertion  were  known  to  be  true  in  respect  to  the  breed- 
ing of  the  French  Merino,  it  would  solve  some  now  very  puzzling  prob- 
lems hi  regard  to  that  variety. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  107 

(between  Merino  and  Ryeland)  in  fineness,  by  "  one 
dip"  too  much  "  with  the  Spaniard  !"*• 

Dr.  Browne,  in  his  learned  "  TBICHOLOGIA  MAM- 
MALIUM,"  states  that  I  advised  the  crossing  of  the 
South  Down  and  Merino,  and  wishes  to  hear  "  from 
myself"  why  I  did  so,  after  I  had  condemned  the  cross 
between  the  Leicester  and  Merino  as  an  "  unquali- 
fied absurdity."  Having  never  before  answered  this 
question  publicly,  I  will  do  so  now.  I  advised  it  as 
I  would  advise  the  Finlander,  in  a  season  of  famine, 
to  continue  his  practice  of  mixing  pulverized  wood 
or  straw  with  meal,  if  he  found  it  necessary  "  to  fill 
out  his  stomach ;"  but  I  should  not  tell  him  that  I 
thought  the  pulverized  wood  and  meal  constituted  a 
mixture  better  than  all  meal,  or  as  good,  provided 
both  were  equally  accessible.  Where  there  is  a  defi- 
ciency of  capital  to  stock  wool-growing  farms  with 
pure  Merino  sheep,  or  where  the  latter  cannot  be  ob- 
tained rapidly  enough,  it  is  better  to  cross  coarse 
ewes  with  Merino  lambs,  than  to  leave  the  land  idle. 
In  the  progress  of  time  the  produce  will  become  ex- 
cellent and  profitable  sheep ;  but  to  suppose  that  the 
produce  of  the  fourth  or  of  the  twentieth  cross  will 
equal  pure  and  properly  bred  Merinos,  is  what  no 
breeder  of  ripe  experience  in  the  premises  ever  dream- 
ed of.  Base  blood  runs  out  rapidly  by  arithmetical 
calculation  ;  but  practically  it  stays  in,  and  is  ever 
and  anon  cropping  out,  by  exhibiting  the  old  base 
characteristics,  in  a  way  that  sets  all  "  calculation" 
at  defiance.  The  observing  Germans  have  a  very 
good  way  of  terming  all,  even  the  highest  bred  mon- 

*  See  his  letter,  published  in  papers  of  Bath  Agricultural  Society, 
Vol.  X. 


108  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

grels,  simply  "  improved  half-blood."  They  found 
that  their  original  coarse  sheep  had  5,500  fibres  of 
wool  on  a  square  inch  ;  grades  of  the  third  or  fourth 
Merino  cross  produced  about  8,000  ;  the  twentieth 
cross  27,000  ;  the  perfect  pure  blood  40  to  48,000.* 

"Whether  it  is  proper  and  expedient  to  cross  between 
varieties  of  the  same  breed,  in  the  expectation  of  form- 
ing an  intermediate  variety,  and  improving  on  ~both 
of  the  originals,  is  hardly  yet  a  settled  question.  The 
Spaniards  thought  not,  and  carefully  guarded  against 
any  mixtures  between  their  cabanas  ;  and  they  bred 
in-and-in  for  ages. 

The  French  plunged  into  the  opposite  extreme,  by 
selecting  from  and  intermixing  the  blood  of  all  the 
different  cabanas  indiscriminately — wherever  a  choice 
animal  could  be  found.  And,  Mr.  Gilbert  to  the 
contrary  notwithstanding,  they  never  have  "  melted 
into  each  other"  by  forming  one  closely  homogeneous 
variety,  or  even  a  group  of  such  varieties.  They  are 
<tf  all  sizes,  sorts  and  descriptions.  Col.  Rotch's  let- 
ter can  be  reread  with  profit  in  this  connection. 

Mr.  Jarvis  did  not  carry  this  system  so  far,  for  he 
blended  much  fewer  cabanas,  and  it  was  an  aggrega- 
tion of  masses  instead  of  mere  individuals  ;  but  I 
have  reason  to  suspect  that  even  in  this  he  did  not 
follow  his  own  better  judgment,  but  was  influenced 
by  the  inducements  held  out  by  leading  manufac- 
turers, who  wished  to  obtain  a  wool  resembling  the 
Saxon.f 

*  Fleichmann's  Eeport. 

f  Charles  Jarvis,  Esq.,  of  "Weathersfield,  Vermont,  son.  of  Hon. 
"William  Jarvis,  writes  me  (Jan.  14th,  1862):  "  He  also  mentioned 
there  was  more  gum  in  the  fleeces  [of  the  imported  sheep],  and  they 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  109 

In  his  instance,  the  guidance  of  a  single  intelligent 
will,  for  upwards  of  half  a  century,  produced  a  very 
considerable  degree  of  uniformity  in  his  flock  ;  but 
will  any  one  now  undertake  to  say  that  the  ultimate 
result  of  this  long  labor  was  an  improvement  on  some 
of  the  separate  original  materials  of  his  flock  ? 
"Would  any  one  now  prefer  his  mixed  sheep  to  de- 
scendants of  the  Paulars,  Negrettis,  etc>,  which  he 
chose  from  the  flocks  of  Spain  ? 

Crossing,  howeverj  between  two  or  three  families, 
has  sometimes  resulted  highly  favorably.  A  con- 
siderable majority  of  the  older  breeding  flocks  of 
Vermont  and  New  York  are  a  cross  between  the 
Paular  (Rich)  and  Infant  ado  (At  wood)  sheep.  At 
the  period  that  cross  commenced,  the  first  had  size, 
form,  constitution,  and  long,  thick  wool.  The  last  had 
fineness,  evenness,  and  style  of  wool,  and  an  excess  of 
yolk.  Each  was  strong  in  the  points  where  the  other 
was  most  deficient ;  and  experience  soon  demonstrated 
that  the  better  qualities  of  both  blended  harmoniously 
in  their  offspring.  There  is  no  denying  that  the  pro- 
duce of  the  cross  is  far  superior  to  either  of  the  orig- 
inal families,  as  those  families  were  when  it  corn- 
had  a  darker  complexion  at  their  introduction  here  than  subsequent- 
ly, mainly  owing  to  father's  accommodating  the  manufacturers  by  breed- 
ing in  tJie  contrary  direction."  Here  we  have  the  solution  of  the  Es- 
curial  cross ;  and  now  for  the  Saxon :  "I  have  repeatedly  heard  him 
say  his  Merino  ewes  sheared  about  four  pounds  till  he  was  persuaded 
by  Mr.  Shepherd  [Col.  James  Shepherd,  of  Northampton,  Mass.],  the 
great  manufacturer  of  that  day,  to  get  some  Saxons  to  cross  with, 
as  the  finest  wool  was  to  be  in  the  most  demand  in  future  ;  and  as  re- 
peatedly heard  him  end  his  allusion  to  the  subject  by  declaring  that  if 
he  had  thrown  his  pocket-book,  with  the  price  of  the  Saxons  into  the 
Connecticut  river,  as  he  was  crossing  for  the  purchase  of  them,  he 
should  be  better  off." 


110  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBAXDKY. 

menced.  They  are  great  favorites  with  the  farmers 
both  of  Vermont  and  New  York,  and  are  to  be  found 
in  nearly  every  fine-wool  growing  county  of  the  latter. 

Mr.  P.  F.  Myrtle  and  C.  1ST.  Ackerson,  of  Steuben 
county,  New  York,  have  a  very  superior  flock,  and 
Gen.  O.  F.  Marshall,  Julius  Stickney,  and  others,  of 
the  same  county,  fine  specimens  of  them,  descended 
from  the  flocks  of  Tyler  Stickney  and  Erastus  and 
Lucius  Robinson,  of  Yermont.*  I  have  not  at  hand 
any  statement  of  their  average  weight  of  fleeces,  but 
they  rank  high  in  this  particular.  Messrs.  Myrtle 
and  Ackerson  cut  13  Ibs.  of  well  washed  wool  from  a 
ram  lamb,  the  carcass  of  which  weighed  60  Ibs.  after 
shearing.  Gen.  Marshall  cut  9  Ibs.  of  well  washed 
wool  from  a  ewe  about  sixteen  months  old,  which 
weighed  45  Ibs.f  It  had  previously,  of  necessity, 
received  two  heavy  taggings.  These  sheep  have  ob- 
tained several  first  state  premiums.  They  cross  ex- 
cellently with  Merino  flocks,  previously  in  that  county, 
owned  by  the  Messrs.  Baker  and  others ;  and  indeed 
with  all  other  Merino  families  with  which  I  have 
known  them  to  be  intermixed. 

The  mixed    Leonese   (Jar vis)   and   Paular   (Rich) 

*  Mr.  Stickney  and  the  Messrs.  Robinson  started  with  Paular  (Rich) 
ewes.  In  1844,  Hon.  M.  W.  C.  Wright,  of  Shoreham,  Vt.,  purchased 
a  ram  bred  and  brought  to  the  New  York  State  Fair  by  Stephen 
Afrwood.  From  this  ram  and  one  of  his  own  ewes,  Erastus  Robinson 
bred  the  "  Old  Robinson  Ram,"  whose  descendants  on  Robinson  and 
Stickney  ewes  constitute  the  crossed  family  mentioned  in  the  text. 
Mr.  Stickney  had  taken  a  previous  cross  with  a  very  superior  Jarvis 
ram.  Whether  his  brother-in-law,  Robinson,  had  done  so  I  am  not 
informed. 

f  For  some  valuable  and  interesting  statements  in  regard  to  the 
proportion  of  wool  to  meat  in  sheep  of  different  ages,  sexes  and  sizes, 
see  Appendix  E. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  Ill 

families  have  been  crossed  successfully.  "  Fortune," 
one  of  the  beet  early  sire  rams  ever  known  in  New 
England,  was  of  this  cross.*  The  ewes  and  ram  with 
which  I  offered  to  meet  Mr.  Collins's  imported  French 
sheep  in  a  sweepstakes,  were  the  get  of  Fortune  on 
Rich  ewes. 

The  late  John  T.  Rich,  Esq.  (son  of  the  first  Yer- 
mont  proprietor  of  the  Paulars,  and  father  of  the 
present  proprietors  of  the  old  Rich  flock),  took  one 
cross  with  Mr.  Jarvis's  family,  through  a  ram  selected 
by  a  most  competent  judge,  f  who  informs  me  that  he 
was  the  only  one  of  Mr.  Jarvis's  entire  number  which 
he  considered  suitable  for  that  purpose.  He  was 
thicker-fleeced,  darker,  and  more  compact  of  form 
than  the  others,  evidently  breeding  back  less  than  the 
others  to  the  Escurial  strain  of  blood,  and  his  get  cor- 
responded with  himself  in  this  particular ;  but  my 
impression  is,  that  he  did  not  benefit  Mr.  Rich's 
family.  In  a  recent  examination  of  that  admirable 
flock  (now  owned  by  John  T.  Rich,  the  younger,  and 
Yirtulan  Rich,  who  lived  on  the  old  homestead  in 
Shoreham,  Yermont),  I  found  no  difficulty  whatever 
in  selecting  out  the  nearest  descendants  of  the  Jarvis 
ram,  and  they  struck  me  much  less  favorably  than 
those  displaying  the  characteristics  of  the  original 
family.  These  valuable  sheep  have  kept  pace  with 
the  improvements  of  later  times  without  any  sacrifice 
of  their  early  valuable  qualities. 

Hon.  M.  W.  C.  Wright,  of  Shoreham,  Yermont, 
commenced  breeding  with  Paular  sheep,  and  crossed 

*  He  was  got  by  a  Jarvis  rain  on  a  Rich  ewe,  bred  or  owned  by 
Mr.  Stickney. 

f  Hon.  M.  W.  C.  Wright 


112  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

them  with  mixed  Leonese,  and  subsequently  with  In- 
fantado  rams,  thus  uniting  the  three  most  distinguish- 
ed families  of  American  Merinos.  His  rams  were 
scattered  widely  through  New  York  a  few  years  since, 
and  they  and  their  descendants  have  given  much 
satisfaction  to  purchasers  Tfijho  wished  to  breed  a  high 
quality  of  wool.  They  have  obtained  many  pre- 
miums at  our  fairs. 

The  Messrs.  Cutting,  of  Shoreham,  Vermont,  have 
produced  flocks  of  excellent  character  by  a  cross  be- 
tween Infantado  sheep  and  an  early  family  of  Meri- 
nos from  Newport,  Rhode  Island.  They  have  bred 
steadily  towards  the  former. 

Henry  Lane,  Esq.,  of  Cornwall,  Vermont,  has  bred 
superior  sheep  of  the  Paular  and  Infantado  cross,  and 
also  pure  Infantado  sheep  improved  by  Mr.  Ham- 
mond. The  same  remark  applies  to  Loyal  C.  Reme- 
lee,  of  Shoreham. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  signally  demon- 
strated that  crossing  is  much  less  necessary  than  has 
been  usually  supposed,  either  to  avoid  in-and-in 
breeding,  or  to  obtain  characteristics  not  usual  to  the 
variety.  The  pure  Infantado  (Atwood)  sheep  have,  in 
the  space  of  eighteen  years,  been  completely  changed 
in  some  of  their  most  essential  qualities.  They  have 
been  converted  into  animals  as  large,  low,  broad, 
round,  short-necked  and  symmetrical  as  any  other 
family  of  Merinos  in  our  country  or  the  world.  In 
short,  some  of  them  seem  to  me  to  have  reached  the 
perfection  of  form  in  a  fine-wooled  sheep.  This 
change,  quite  as  great  as  that  which  Mr.  Bake  well 
produced  in  the  Leicester  sheep,  is  principally  due  to 
the  skill  and  perseverance  of  Edwin  Hammond,  of 


FINE   WOOL   SHEEP   HUSBANDRY.  113 

Middlebury,  Ye;«mont.  In  1861  he  sheared  193  ewes 
and  7  rams.  Forty-four  of  the  first  were  yearlings, 
and  snlallish  on  account  of  the  drouth  of  the  season. 
Among  the  seven  rams  three  were  smallish  yearlings 
and  one  a  smallish  two-year  old.  The  whole  200 
yielded  an  average  of  an  ounce  or  two  under  10 
pounds  of  unwashed  wool.  Three  grown  rams  yielded 
together  73  pounds  unwashed  wool.  On  account  of 
the  great  scarcity  of  hay  and  the  comparative  abun- 
dance of  oats,  the  sheep  were  wintered  mostly  on  the 
latter.*  This  undoubtedly  increased  the  weight  of 
their  fleeces,  but  the  yield  was  still  a  most  marvellous 
one.  Mr.  Hammond's  wool  is  a  shade  coarser  than  it 
was  when  he  commenced  his  wonderful  improvements, 
but  it  is  of  a  good  quality,  even,  sound,  and  less  yolky 
than  that  of  the  original  sheep. 

Nelson  A.  Saxton,  of  Yergennes,  Yermont,  breeds 
a  small  and  choice  flock  of  the  same  blood,  drawn 
from  Mr.  Hammond's  flock. 

Dr.  Ira"  Spencer,  of  De  Ruyter,  New  York,  has 
made  a  vigorous  commencement  in  improvements  of 
Infantados  drawn  from  Mr.  Atwood's  flock.f  At  the 
last  shearing  his  flock  consisted  of  40  ewes  three  years 
old  and  upwards,  10  yearlings,  and  2  grown  rams  and 
8  wethers.  The  average  weight  of  the  whole  fleeces, 
washed  on  the  back,  was  a  fraction  over  7  pounds.  He 
weighed  and  measured  the  height  on  shoulder  of  a  few 
of  these,  on  the  18th  of  January  last,  and  subjoins 
the  weight  of  their  last  year's  fleeces. 

*  the  entire  ewes  of  all  ages  received  on  the  average  a  pound  a 
piece  daily. 

f  The  ram,  however,  mentioned  in  the  following  table  (recently  pur- 
chased), is  of  the  Hammond  family. 


114:  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 


Ram  

Live  weight, 
pounds. 
132 

Height 
inches. 
29 

Ewe 

91 

23 

Ewe  

87 

Ewe 

.      .      ..107 

24V 

Ewe 

89 

24 

Ewe.. 

.  98 

24-,' 

Weight  of  fleece. 
pounds. 


8 

7 
7 

The  ram's  fleece  was  of  eleven  months'  growth  and 
unwashed.  The  sheep  ran  between  two  and  three 
weeks  between  washing  and  shearing.  Their  winter 
feed  was  hay,  and  each  received  daily  half  a  pint  of 
provender,  made  up  of  three  parts,  by  measure,  of  oats 
and  one  part  of  oil-meal.  The  ram  received  more. 

I  have  ewes  of  the  same  blood  which  have  produced 
from  7  to  8  Ibs.  4:  oz.,  of  well  washed  wool  per  head ; 
but  I  am  unable  to  state*  any  average,  their  fleeces  not 
having  been  kept  separate  from  those  of  my  other 
sheep.  The  ram  which  I  have  given  measurements 
of  in  Petri's  table,  is  of  this  blood.  He  was  bred  by 
Mr.  Hammond. 

I  am  informed  there  are  pure  Paular  sheep  in  some 
of  the  western  counties  of  this  State  which  produce 
very  heavy  fleeces,  but  I  am  unable  to  furnish  any 
detailed  facts  on  the  subject.* 

The  result  of  my  experience  and  investigations  is 
embodied  in  the  conclusion,  that  to  attain  very 
eminent  success  I  would  prefer  to  breed  from  a  single 

*  I  have  by  no  means  attempted  to  name  all  the  choice  pure  blood 
flocks,  either  in  this  State  or  Yermont.  This  was  not  the  object  of 
this  paper.  In  the  former  I  have  mentioned  a  few  of  which  I  happen 
to  have  personal  knowledge.  In  Vermont  I  have  only  spoken  of  the 
flocks  which  (with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Saxton's)  I  found  time  to  ex- 
amine during  a  three  days'  reconnoissance  among  the  sheep  of  that 
State,  made  within  a  week  of  the  time  of  reading  this  paper,  for  the 
purpose  of  enabling  me  to  express  opinions  concerning  the  present 
qualities  of  the  several  varieties  on  the  evidence  of  my  own  judgment. 


FINE   WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  115 

family  hewing  within  it  all  the  proper  elements  of  im- 
provement, if  it  could  be  done  without  breeding  in- 
and-in  too  closely.  And  some  persons  are  quite  too 
easily  frightened  on  the  latter  subject.  What  can  be 
made  an  evil  by  being  carried  too  far,  has,  by  much 
talking  and  writing  on  the  subject,  been  made  an  in- 
discriminate bugbear  at  every  stage  of  its  progress. 
It  is  by  no  means  true  that  it  is  either  unsafe  or  im- 
proper to  interbreed  animals  of  any  degree  of  re- 
lationship. If  it  is,  what  has  saved  the  Spanish 
cabanas  for  ages  ?  or  to  take  a  specific  instance  (where 
there  is  no  latitude  for  conjecturing  impossibilities), 
what  has  kept  up,  nay,  increased  the  size  and  vigor 
and  improved  the  form  of  Ferdinand  and  Louis 
Fischer's  flock  for  fifty  years,  when  that  flock  started 
with  one  hundred  ewes  of  one  family  and  four  rams 
of  another  family,  and  these  families  have  since  been 
interbred  without  the  admixture  of  a  drop  of  fresh 
blood  ?  Mr.  Atwood's  sheep  present  a  still  stronger 
example.  According  to  his  statements,  his  entire 
flock,  now  scattered  by  colonization  into  nearly  all  the 
States  of  the  Union,  originated  from  one  ewe,  and 
neither  she  nor  any  of  her  descendants  in  his  hands 
was  interbred  with  other  sheep  not  descended  exclu- 
sively from  Col.  Humphreys'  flock.  Mr.  Hammond 
bought  a  small  number  of  Mr.  Atwood's  flock  in 
1844,  and  he  has  since,  he  assures  me,  interbred  solely 
between  the  descendants  of  those  identical  sheep. 

Is  it  probable  that  the  Creator,  who  organized  all 
animals  into  either  families,  flocks  or  herds,  which 
strongly  incline  to  remain  together,  and  implanted  in 
none  of  them  but  man  a  disinclination  to  incest,  at 
the  same  time  established  a  physical  law  which  ren- 


116  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDEY. 

dered  incestuous  connexion  per  se  an  element  of  dete- 
rioration and  final  destruction  ?  Among  wild  brutes, 
brothers  and  sisters  must  constantly  pair  together. 
Some  kinds  of  birds  are  hatched  in  pairs  as  if  for  the 
express  purpose  of  remaining  together  and  interbreed- 
ing. And  the  connexion  of  brothers  and  sisters  is 
the  closest  possible  interbreeding.  Has  any  one  dis- 
covered or  even  conjectured  a  decay  of  the  wild  deni- 
zens of  earth  or  air  on  this  account  ?  Does  any  one 
imagine  that  the  elephant  is  smaller  or  weaker  than 
he  was  when  he  trampled  down  armed  squadrons  on 
old  barbaric  battle-fields  ages  on  ages  ago,  or  that  the 
African  lion  is  a  less  formidable  animal  than  when 
his  angry  roar  shook  the  Roman  Coliseum  ? 

It  may  be  said  that  inasmuch  as  the  strong  males 
destroy  or  banish  from  the  herd  the  weak  males,  and 
that  in  times  of  scarcity  and  hardship  the  weaker 
animals  of  both  sexes  perish,  a  natural  provision  has 
been  made  to  guard  against  deterioration,  whether 
arising  from  in-and-in  breeding  or  any  other  cause. 
In  respect  to  animals  which  herd  together  in  large 
numbers,  and  which  are  periodically  exposed  to  se- 
vere vicissitudes  of  climate  and  periods  of  scarcity  of 
food,  this  would  be  in  a  great  measure  true ;  but  there 
are  portions  of  the  earth  where  some  classes  of  animals, 
particularly  those  of  the  lower  organizations  and  soli- 
tary habits,  cannot  be  supposed  to  be  subject  to  such 
casualties,  or  to  any  which  would  have  the  effect  of 
regularly  weeding  out  those  possessed  of  less  than  the 
average  of  strength  and  hardiness.  And  I  apprehend 
we  shall  find  no  natural  laws  necessary  for  the  protec- 
tion of  animal  life  and  vigor,  enforced  in  respect  to 
the  higher  and  not  the  lower  organizations,  or  which 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  117 

require  a  special  and  local  set  of  circumstances  to 
bring  their  benevolent  effects  *into  operation. 

Interbreeding  between  near  relatives  becomes  fatal ' 
to  physical  imperfection ;  but  the  drift  of  testimony 
goes  to  show  that  it  is  innocuous  to  perfection.* 

*  A  majority  of  the  most  celebrated  breeders  and  improvers  of 
English  cattle  have  been  close  in-and-in  breeders,  such  as  Bakewell, 
the  founder  of  the  improved  long-horn  or  New  Leicester  cattle,  Price, 
"the  most  successful  Hereford  cattle  breeder  on  record  until  twenty 
years  ago,"  the  Collins,  Mason,  Maynard,  "Wetherill,  Sir  diaries 
Knightly,  Bates,  the  Booths,  &c,  &c.,  breeders  of  Short-Horns.  In 
the  first  volume  American  Short-Horn  Herd  Book  (edited  by  Lewis  F. 
Allen,  Esq.),  are  diagrams  showing  the  continuous  and  close  in-and-in 
breeding  which  produced  the  bull  Comet,  by  far  the  most  superb  and 
celebrated  animal  of  his  day,  and  which  sold  at  Charles  Colling's  sale, 
for  the  then  unprecedented  price  of  $5,000.  His  pedigree  cannot  be 
stated  so  as  to  make  the  extent  of  the  in-and-in  breeding,  of  which  he 
was  the  result,  fully  apparent  except  to  persons  familiar  with  such 
things,  and  such  persons  probably  need  no  information  on  the  subject. 
But  this  much  all  will  see  the  force  of:  the  bull  Bolingbroke  and  the 
cow  Phenix,  which  were  more  closely  related  to  each  other  than  half 
"*  brother  and  sister,  were  coupled  and  produced  the  bull  Favorite.  Fa- 
vorite was  then  coupled  with  his  own  dam  and  produced  the  cow 
Toung  Phenix.  He  was  then  coupled  with  his  own  daughter  (Yoimg 
Phenix)  and  their  produce  was  the  world-famed  Comet.  One  of  the 
best  breeding  cows  in  Sir  Charles  Knightly's  herd  (Restless)  was  the 
result  of  still  more  continuous  in-and-in  breeding.  I  will  state  a  part 
of  the  pedigree.  The  bull  Favorite  was  put  to  his  own  daughter,  and 
then  to  his  own  grand-daughter,  and  so  on  to  the  produce  of  his  produce 
in  regular  succession  for  six  generations.  The  cow  which  was  the  re- 
sult of  the  sixth  interbreeding,  was  then  put  to  the  bull  Wellington, 
"  deeply  interbred  on  the  side  of  both  sire  and  dam  in  the  blood  of 
Favorite,"  and  the  produce  was  the  cow  Clarissa,  an  admirable  animal 
and  the  mother  of  Restless.  Mr.  Bates,  whose  Short-Horns  were 
never  excelled  (if  equalled)  in  England,  put  sire  to  daughter  and  grand- 
daughter, son  to  dam  and  grand-dam,  and  brother  to  sister,  indiffer- 
ently, his  rule  being  "always  to  put  the  best  animals  together, 
regardless  of  any  affinity  of  blood,"  as  A.  B.  Allen  informs  me  he  dis- 
tinctly declared  to  him,  and  indeed  as  his  recorded  practice  in  the  Herd 


118  FINE    WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

I  do  not  recommend  it  per  se,  for  who  shall  decide 
what  perfection  is  ?  there  comes  a  time,  generally, 

Book  fully  proves.  It  is  true  that  his  Duchess  family  became  impo- 
tent— ceased  to  breed ;  and  this  has  been  seized  on  as  a  proof  of  the 
danger  of  in-and-in  breeding.  But  Mr.  Bates  did  not  so  regard  it. 
He  continued  his  previous  course  of  in-and-in  breeding  with  his  other 
animals  until  his  death,  and  with  triumphant  success.  The  editor  of 
the  American  Short-Horn  Herd  Book  writes  me:  "As  to  Mr.  Bates's 
cows  being  barren,  that  defect  related  to  one  family  only,  the  Duch- 
esses, which  was  constitutional  in  the  first  of  them,  and  probably  ac- 
cidental." To  the  point  of  their  ceasing  to  breed,  they  apparently 
grew  more  perfect  in  every  particular.  Mr.  Price,  whose  Herefords 
were  the  best  in  England  in  his  day,  declared,  in  an  article  published 
in  the  British  Farmers'  Magazine,  that  he  had  not  gone  beyond  his 
own  herd  for  a  bull  or  a  cow  for  forty  years. 

It  is  not  denied  that  Bakewell  selected  his  original  flock  of  long- 
wooled  sheep  from  different  flocks  and  families  wherever  he  could  ob- 
tain most  perfection,  but  after  that  he  bred  in-and-in  to  the  period  of 
his  death,  and  the  Dishley  sheep  did  not  evince  their  subsequent  fee- 
bleness of  constitution  when  under  his  direction.  The  same  state- 
ment will  apply  to  Jonas  Webb,  the  great  breeder  of  South  Downs. 
The  Stud  Book  is  full  of  examples  of  celebrated  horses  produced  by 
close  in-and-in  breeding.  Favorite  varieties  of  the  pig  have  been  pro- 
duced in  the  same  way.  There  are  families  of  rabbits,  game,  fowls, 
pigeons,  etc.,  which  have  been  bred  in-and-in  for  a  long  course  of  gen- 
erations without  deterioration  of  constitution  and  with  a  constant  im- 
provement of  the  points  regarded  in  such  animals. 

But  the  misfortune  of  it  is,  that  while  in-and-in  breeding  is  the 
readiest  road  to  uniformity  and  perfection  in  the  thoroughly  compe- 
tent breeder's  hands,  it  is  the  "  edge  tool"  with  which  the  incompetent 
one  is  sure  to  inflict  swift  destruction  on  his  animals  and  his  own  in- 
terests. And  there  is  another  misfortune.  Every  man  who  owns 
animals  fancies  himself  a  competent  breeder.  He  who  has  spent  his 
life  in  other  pursuits,  reads  a  few  books,  picks  up  a  few  phrases, 
watches  the  proceedings  of  his  shepherd  a  little,  and  then  fancies  ho 
is  a  breeder  !  And  he  is  not  more  mistaken  in  this  supposition  than  is 
the  unreading  man,  brought  up  on  the  farm,  who  has  no  knowledge 
on  the  subject  outside  of  its  traditions,  and  who,  with  the  cant  of  "  ea> 
perience"  ever  on  his  tongue,  never  tried  a  carefully  and  properly  con- 
ducted experiment  in  his  life.  No  man  can  be  a  really  able  breeder 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  119 

when  close  in-and-in  breeding  between  the  artificial 
species  which  have  been  parity  moulded  by  man  pro- 
duces loss  of  vigor  and  degeneracy,  and  sometimes 
this  fatal  overthrow  is  but  one  step  away  from  the 
pinnacle  of  apparent  success. 

But  I  would  quite  as  sedulously  abstain  from  run- 
ning round  from  family  to  family  and  individual  to 
individual  to  obtain  a  perpetual  recurrence  of  disturb- 
ing and  unnecessary  crosses. 

And  when  crossing  is  resorted  to,  let  it  be  in  a  uni- 
form way  and  direction.  Let  every  breeder  establish 
his  own  standard  and  breed  steadily  to  it.  The 
French  did  this.  Mr.  Jarvis  did  this.  Both,  there- 
fore, succeeded  in  establishing  a  new  variety,  not  as 
uniform  as  an  old  variety,  yet  far  more  so  than  if 
either  had  pursued  a  deviating  and  changeable  course. 

The  sheep  owner  who  changes  the  family  and  style 
of  his  rams  every  two  or  three  years — now,  for  ex- 
ample, getting  short,  thick  fleeced,  and  now  long, 
open  fleeced  ones ;  now  yolky  and  dark,  and  now  dry 
and  light-colored  ones ;  now  low,  broad  carcassed,  and 

who  has  not  an  abundance  of  theoretical  knowledge,  and  an  abundance 
of  experience  and  long  observation  united.  And  even  then  I  am  in- 
clined to  think  that,  like  the  poet,  he  must  be  lorn  to  his  business  1 
Inasmuch  then  as  it  requires  so  much  skill  to  detect  those  qualities 
and  tendencies  (some  of  them  invisible  and  qjily  to  be  ascertained  by 
inferences  drawn  from  numerous  minor  facts)  which  should  prevent 
in-and-in  breeding  in  one  instance,  or  indicate  its  propriety  in  another, 
it  is  perhaps  best  that  the  time-honored  public  and  traditionary  belief 
on  the  subject  should  remain  unshaken,  viz. :  that  interbreeding  be- 
tween animals  of  any  degree  of  affinity  is  wrong  and  highly  danger- 
ous. As  long  as  mankind  started  peopling  the  earth  in  this  way, 
under  the  direct  eye  and  provision  of  their  Creator,  it  will  hardly  do  to 
pronounce  it  malum  in  se,  but  let  tit  be  considered  malum  prohibitum, 
if  the  public  pleases,  in  the  strongest  sense  I 


120  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

now  tall,  narrow  ones,  &c.,  &c., — will  never  attain 
that  degree  of  uniformity  which  is  essential  to  a  de- 
cently bred  flock. 

There  is  another  kind  of  crossing  between  varieties 
of  the  same,  breed  for  a  different  object  than  the  one 
I  have  discussed,  viz :  to  bring  one  of  the  varieties  so 
crossed  to  the  standard  of  the  other.  In  this  no  mid- 
dle line  between  the  varieties  is  aimed  at,  but  to  give 
the  offspring  the  characteristics  of  the  best  one  by 
crossing  steadily  towards  the  best  one.  I  regard 
this  as  strictly  legitimate  breeding.  For  example,  if 
a  flock  master  has  one  hundred  ewes  of  Mr.  Jarvis's 
family,  described  under  No.  1,  and  wishes  to  convert 
them  into  such  sheep  as  those  described  under  No.  2 
or  No.  3,  it  is  his  true  course  then  to  bred  them 
steadily  to  rams  of  the  preferred  flodk,  and  so  far  as 
possible  to  those  of  the  same  individual  character.  If 
the  Merino  blood  is  absolutely  pure  on  both  sides,  the 
assimilation  will  usually  go  on  pretty  rapidly  and 
surely.  Many  former  owners  of  good  Saxons  even, 
who  had  judgment  to  select  proper  American  Merino 
rams,  and  who  have  held  on  in  a  steady  line,  now 
own  flocks  superior  in  actual  value  to  very  many 
pure  American  Merino  flocks. 

I  have  alluded  in  a  preceding  note  to  the  former 
admirable  Saxon  ^,nd  Spanish  flock  of  James  M. 
Ellis,  Esq,  of  Onondaga — called  Saxon  in  the  wool 
market,  but  built  up  on  an  early  Spanish  Merino 
foundation.*  Fifty  ewes  were  taken  from  this  flock 
in  1852,  the  fleeces  of  which  weighed  from  3J  to  3£ 

*  Gen.  Ellis  (father  of  James  M-  Ellis)  purchased  several  sheep  of 
Col.  Humphreys,  and  kept  a  ram  and  ewe  for  his  own  use.  Their 
blood  mingles  in  that  of  the  present  flock. 


FINE   WOOL   SHEEP   HUSBANDBY.  121 

pounds.  They  and  their  descendants  were  bred 
steadily  to  heavy  but  fine  fleeced  American  Merino 
rams.  In  the  year  1860  the  flock  was  284,  and  yield- 
ed an  average  of  five  pounds  of  thoroughly  washed 
wool  (with  an  excess  of  11  pounds  on  the  whole 
flock) ;  and  such  was  its  condition  on  the  sorter's  table, 
that  it  lost  but  5-J-  pounds  out  of  1,431  pounds,  inclu- 
ding strings  and  every  thing  else  rejected.  It  sorted 
as  follows :  No.  1,  71  Ibs. ;  No.  2,  331  Ibs.  ;  No.  3, 
493  Ibs. ;  No.  4,  195  Ibs. ;  fribs,  189  Ibs. ;  No.  5,  102 
Ibs. ;  No.  6,  29  Ibs. ;  No.  7,  12  Ibs. ;  No.  8,  3£  Ibs. 
The  wool  of  this  flock,  from  its  beautiful  quality,  style 
and  condition,  has  sold  for  50  cents  a  pound  for  five 
years  past — within  half  a  cent  of  the  average  price 
of  the  best  wool  during  that  period  in  the  Boston 
market.  It  thus  gives  on  the  average  $2.50  net  to 
the  fleece.  How  many  un  pampered  flocks  of  Ameri- 
can Merinos  will  equal  this?  This  is  the  fruit  of  a 
true  cross.  These  sheep  belong  to  James  Geddes, 
Esq.,  of  Fairmount,  Onondaga  Co.,  N.  Y.* 

In  attempting  thus  to  change  the  character  of  a 
flock,  violent  crosses  are  to  be  avoided  so  far  as  ma- 
terials will  allow.  First,  the  inferior  variety  should 
approach  the  characteristics  of  the  superior  as  far  as 
practicable  ;  second,  even  the  superior  variety  should 
avoid  the  greatest  extremes  in  certain  particulars,  and 
unquestionably  so  in  size.  In  breeding  up  a  Saxon 
flock  to  the  American  Merino  standard,  that  cross 
should  not  be  commenced  with  an  overgrown  ram  of 
the  latter.  How  far  this  rule  applies  in  respect  to 

*  There  are  other  excellent  flocks  of  a  similar  cross,  and  a  number 
of  excellent  American  Merino  flocks  in  the  same  county,  but  I  am  in 
possession  of  no  definite  statistics  in  relation  to  them. 
6 


122  FINE   WOOL   SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

the  qualities  of  the  fleece,  &c.,  there  is  a  difference 
of  opinion.  The  Germans  are  disposed  to  avoid  too 
great  disparities  in  all  particulars. 

Selection  of  Flocks. 

v 

Carcass.  In  a  climate  like  ours,  and  under  a 
general  system  of  sheep  husbandry  like  ours,  carcass 
is  unquestionably  the  first  point  to  be  regarded  even 
in  the  fine*wooled  sheep — because  on  the  proper  con- 
stitution, or  the  proper  structure  and  connection  of 
its  parts,  depends  the  health,  vigor,  and  hardiness  of 
the  animal ;  and  without  these,  all  other  qualities  are 
houses  built  on  sand.  Plump  medium  size,  for  the 
breed  or  variety,  is  the  most  desirable  one.  The 
body  should  be  round  and  deep,  not  over  long,  and 
both  the  head  and  neck  short  and  thick.  The  back 
should  be  straight  and  broad  ;  the  bosom  and  buttock 
full ;  the  legs  decidedly  short,  well  apart,  straight 
and  strong,  with  heavy  forearm  and  fulness  in  the 
twist.  This  "  pony-built"  figure,  as  the  farmers  term 
it,  indicates  hardiness,  easiness  of  keep,  and  a  predis- 
position to  take  on  flesh. 

Skin..  The  skin  should  be  of  a  rich,  deep,  rosy 
color.  The  Spaniards  ever  justly  regarded  this  a 
point  of  much  importance,  as  indicative  of  the  fatten- 
ing or  easy-keeping  properties  of  the  animal,  and  of 
a  normal  and  healthy  condition  of  the  system.  The 
skin  should  be  thinnish,  mellow,  elastic,  and  particu- 
larly loose  on  "the  carcass.  A  white  skin,  when  the 
animal  is  in  health,  or  a  tawny  oney  is  rarely  found 
on  a  high  bred  Merino.  A  thick,  stij£,  inelastic  skin, 
like  that  found  on  many  badly  bred  French  sheep,  is 
highly  objectionable. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  123 

Folds,  The  Spanish,  French,  and  German  breeders 
approved  of  folds  in  the  skin,  considering  them  indi- 
cations of  a  heavy  fleece.  The  French  have  bred 
them  over  the  entire  bodies  of  many  of  their  sheep. 
I  have  seen  two  hours  and  a  half  expended  by  an 
active  and  skilful  shearer,  in  my  barn,  in  getting  the 
fleece  decently  off  a  ram  of  this  stamp.  This  might 
do  better  in  a  different  climate,  and  in  countries 
where  labor  costs  nothing ;  but  the  additional  quan- 
tity of  wool  will  not  pay  for  it  in  this.*  Besides,  it 
is  unsightly,  because  excessively  unnatural.  A  deep, 
soft,  plaited  dewlap  on  both  sexes,  and  some  slight 
corrugation  on  the  neck  of  the  ram,  were  all  our 
older  breeders  of  the  Merino  desired  in  this  way. 
The  fashion  has  extended  to  heavy  neck  folds,  particu- 
larly on  the  i am,  a  short  fold  or  two  back  of  the 
elbow,  and  some  small  ones  round  and  on  the  roots 
of  the  tail  and  on  the  breech — the  latter  running  in 

*  I  mean  additional  quantity  caused  by  the  folds  of  the  skin,  for  as 
a  mere  "  sign1'1  of  a  thick  fleece  they  amount  to  nothing.  The  cost  of 
additional  labor  is  not  the  sole  consideration.  It  is  frequently  a  diffi- 
cult thing  to  find  time  to  shear  a  large  flock  of  sheep  between  the 
raiii  storms  from  15th  of  June  to  10th  of  July.  The  farmer  is  often 
compelled  to  house  his  flocks  for  twenty -four  hours  in  succession,  to 
keep  them  dry  for  the  shearers ;  and  besides  getting  miserably  dirty 
with  green  dung,  they  become  so  hollow  and  lank  (for  they  will 
scarcely  touch  dry  hay),  and  their  skins  so  flabby,  that  it  almost 
doubles  the  difficulty  of  shearing  them.  And  this  is  very  injurious 
treatment  to  ewes  having  young  lambs.  PrimS  shearers  are  scarce. 
What  then  would  he  do,  who  had  BOO  or  500  such  sheep  as  I  have 
named  in  the  text,  to  get  sheared  I  Suppose  he  obtained  five  or  even 
ten  pounds  more  wool  from  100  sheep,  would  it  not  be  vastly  more 
economical  to  go  to  the  expense  of  keeping  one  or  two  additional 
sheep  to  obtain  it  ?  There  is  no  sensible  point  of  view  in  .which  this  ex- 
cessive folding  or  wrinkling  of  the  skin  over  the  whole  body  is  not  an 
unmitigated  nuisance  ! 


124  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBAlSTDKY. 

the  direction  of  lines  drawn  from  the  tail  to  the 
stifle.  Gentle  corrugations  over  the  body,  which  can 
be  pulled  smooth  in  shearing,  are  also  tolerated. 

Fleece.  Wool  long  enough  to  do  up  in  the  fleece 
is  not  desirable  on  the  nose  under  the  eyes,*  or  on 
the  legs  below  the  knees  and  hocks,  though  a  thick 
coat  of  shortish  wool  on  the  latter,  and  particularly 
on  the  hind  legs,  is  regarded  as  a  good  point.  The 
arm-pits  and  most  of  the  base  of  the  scrotum  must 
necessarily  be  bare ;  but  these  cavities  should  be  as 
small  as  the  freedom  of  movement  permits ;  and  all 

*  Long  wool  on  the  nose  under  the  eyes  is,  like  the  preceding,  a 
nuisance,  on  account  of  the  obstruction  which  it  offers  to  the  sight.  I 
have  several  sheep  which  would  become  totally  blind  at  least  twice  a 
year,  by  the  wool  closing  over  their  eyes,  if  it  was  not  cut  away.  And 
long  before  it  thus  closes  over,  the  sheep  can  only  see  laterally,  so  that 
they  can  be  closely  approached  in  front  or  rear,  by  man  or  dog  walk- 
ing noiselessly  on  the  grass,  or  amidst  the  other  noises  of  the  barn- 
yard. When  they  at  last  discover  the  approaching  body  so  near  them, 
they  bound  away  in  an  agony  of  fright  even  from  their  familiar 
keeper.  This  obstruction  of  the  sight  is  therefore  very  destructive  to 
the  quietness  and  docility  which  should  characterize  a  well  managed 
flock.  And  such  sheep  do  nqf  do  as  well  in  the  winter,  unless  the 
wool  is  repeatedly  clipped  from  around  their  eyes,  because  their  com- 
panions are  constantly  taking  advantage  of  them  at  rack  and  trough. 
Let  us  have  no  such  "fancy"  monstrosities  as  this  and  the  preceding 
inflicted  on  our  valuable  American  flocks.  But  a  good  foretop  is  justly 
regarded  as  a  fine  point.  It  should  be  of  good  length,  dense,  and  the 
wool  stand  at  right  angles  to  the  forehead.  It  should  descend  in  a 
curve  on  the  nose  a  little  below  the  line  of  the  eyes,  circle  round  the 
eyes  at  just  sufficient  distance  not  to  obstruct  the  sight,  and  join  the 
wool  on  the  cheeks  and  upper  part  of  the  neck,  without  break  or 
opening. 

I  have  omitted  speaking  of  the  ears.  They  should  be  small,  coated 
with  thick,  soft,  mossy  hair,  about  half  way  to  the  roots,  so  asjo  give 
them  a  feeling  of  thickness  and  softness ;  and  the  remainder  of  the 
outer  surface  should  be  covered  with  wool.  A  thin,  hard,  and  espe- 
cially a  naked  ear,  is  highly  objectionable. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY.  125 

the  other  parts  of  the  body  and  limbs  should  be 
densely  covered  with  wool  of  as  uniform  length  as  is 
attainable.  It  is  a  specially  fine  characteristic  to  see 
it  of  full  length  on  the  belly,  forehead,  cheeks,  and 
on  the  legs  as  far  down  as  the  knees  and  hocks.  + 

The  wool  should  stand  at  right  angles  to  the  sur- 
face, except  on  the  inside  of  the  legs  and  on  the  scro- 
tum ;  it  should  present  a  dense,  smooth,  even  surface 
externally,  dropping  apart  nowhere ;  and  the  masses 
of  wool  between  those  natural  cracks  or  divisions 
which  are  always  seen  on  the  surface,  should  be  of 
medium  diameter.  If  they  are  too  small,  they  indi- 
cate a  fineness  of  fleece  which  is  incompatible  with  its 
proper  weight;  if  too  large,  they  indicate  coarse, 
harsh  wool.* 

The  good  properties  of  wool  are  too  well  understood 
to  require  many  words.  Length  is  no  longer  an  ob- 
jection to  the  finest  staple,  as  it  once  was.f  The 
maximum,  both  of  thickness  and  length,  cannot  be 
attained  on  the  same  animal,  and  the  object  of  the 
breeder  should  be  to  produce  that  particular  combi- 
nation or  co-existence  of  these  properties  which  will 
give  the  heaviest  fleece. 

*  Mr.  Fleichmann  gives  the  G-erman  standard  of  their  diameter  at 
one-sixteenth  of  an  inch.  I  should  say  one-quarter  of  an  inch  was 
quite  small  enough  for  the  American  Merino.  Viewed  very  closely, 
these  masses  are  not,  in  many  high  bred  American  Merinos,  strictly 
flat  on  the  surface,  but  slightly  butroidal,  each  tuft  composing  it  hav- 
ing a  rounded  end.  Pointed  ends,  particularly  if  their  extremities  are 
curled  or  twisted,  and  have  a  hairy  appearance,  indicate  thinness  and 
unevenness  of  fleece. 

f  The  long  fine  wools,  say  two  inches  and  over,  are  now  manufac- 
tured into  delaines,  &c. ;  and  as  already  said,  broadcloths  are  not 
made  in  our  country. 


126  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

Fineness.  The  grower  knows  his  market,  and 
must  produce  an  article  adapted  to  it.  In  the  Ameri- 
can market  there  is  a  much  larger  demand  for  medium 
than  fine  wools,  and  the  former  commands  much  the 
feest  price  in  proportion  to  cost  of  production.  '  It  is 
to  be  hoped,  however,  that  the  demand  for  fine  wools 
will  increase.  Whatever  the  quality  aimed  at,  it 
should  be  the  same  throughout  the  flock  so  far  as  it  is 
practicable. 

Evenness.  Evenness  of  quality  in  every  part  of  the 
fleece,  so  far  as  this  can  be  attained,  is  one  of  the  first 
points  of  a  well  bred  sheep.  Jar  is  very  objection- 
able, but  not  as  much  so  as  what  the  Germans  term 
dog's  hair — hair  growing  out  through  the  wool  on  the 
thighs,  the  edges  of  the  neck  folds,  about  the  roots  of 
the  horn  in  rams,*  or  standing  scattered  here  and 
there  through  the  fleece  or  inside  the  legs.  This  indi- 
cates bad  blood  or  a  defective  course  of  breeding. 

Trueness  and  Soundness.  Wool  should  be  of  equal 
diameter  from  the  root  to  the  point  of  the  fibre.  It 
should  especially  be  free  from  any  finer  and  weaker 
spot  or  "  joint"  in  it,  occasioned  by  a  temporary  ill- 
ness or  other  low  state  of  the  animal.  This  can  often 
be  detected  by  the  naked  eye,  and  always  by  pulling 
the  fibre.  Wool  is  said  to  be  sound,  where  it  is  strong 
and  elastic. 

Pliancy  and  Softness  are  considerations  of  the  first 
importance,  not  only  as  indicia  of  other  qualities,  but 
intrinsically.  If  we  can  suppose  two  lots  of  wool 
exactly  to  resemble  each  other  in  every  other  particu- 

*  When  the  back  of  a  ram's  head  has  been  severely  bruised  in 
fighting,  hair  sometimes  succeeds  to  the  original  wool,  and  offers  np 
proof  of  bad  breeding. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  127 

lar,  but  that  under  the  same  treatment  one  is  com- 
paratively stiff  and  hard  to  the  touch,  while  the  other 
has  a  silky  pliancy  and  softness,  the  latter  is  decidedly 
the  most  valuable,  because  it  will  produce  manufac- 
tured articles  far  superior  in  beauty  and  for  actual 
use.  But  in  point  of  fact,  full  blood  wool  is  almost 
invariably  soft  in  proportion  to  its  fineness,  and  is  al- 
ways so  in  proportion  to  its  marketable  value.  A 
practised  buyer  can  decide  on  that  value  in  the  dark. 

Style  is,  perhaps,  a  word  which  has  rather  vague 
boundaries  to  its  meaning  ;  but  it  includes  that  com- 
bination of  useful  and  showy  properties  which  give 
^alue  to  the  choicest  wool,  viz :  fineness,  clearness  of 
color,  lustre,  uniformity  and  beauty  of  curving,  and 
that  peculiar  mode  of  opening  on  the  body,  or  disposi- 
tion of  the  fibres  in  the  sheared  fleece,  which  indicate 
the  last  extreme  of  pliancy  and  softness.  These  quali- 
ties, in  combination,  present  an  appearance  which  at 
once,  without  a  sufficiently  close  inspection  to  discover 
the  separate  fibres,  or  even  without  a  touch  of  the 
hand,  point  out  the  best  fleece  in  the  pile. 

Yolk.  This,  in  its  most  usual  form,  is  a  semi-fluid, 
unctuous  secretion  from  the  skin,  found  in  the  wool 
of  various  breeds  of  sheep,  and  particularly  in  that  of 
the  Merino.  Sometimes  there  is  only  enough  of  it  to 
lubricate  and  make  a  shining  coating  on  every  fibre. 
In  others,  it  appears  additionally  in  little  brilliant 
globules  among  the  fibres.  In  others  still,  it  forms  a 
separate,  visible  and  abundant  mass  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  wool.  In  some  instances  it  is  as  thin  as  the 
most  delicate  oil ;  in  others,  pasty  and  viscid  ;  in 
others  it  has  the  spissitude  of  soft  wax,  and  appears  in 
particles  or  even  in  concretions  of  considerable  size 


128  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

within  the  wool;*  and  when  it  is  sufficiently  abundant 
in  the  fluid  form  to  ooze  constantly  to  the  outer  ex- 
tremity, it  catches  and  retains  dust,  the  pollen  of  hay, 
&c.,  and  gradually  inspissates  into  that  black  gummy 
mass  now  so  eagerly  sought  for  by  a  class  of  Merino 
breeders. 

Yauquelin,  a  celebrated  French  chemist,  found  that 
various  specimens  of  yolk  contained  about  the  same 
constituents  :  1.  A  soapy  matter  with  a  basis  of  pot- 
ash, which  formed  a  greater  part  of  it.  2.  A  small 
quantity  of  carbonate  of  potash.  3.  A  perceptible 
quantity  of  acetate  of  potash.  4.  Lime,  whose  state 
of  combination  he  was  unacquainted  with.  5.  AJI 
atom  of  muriate  of  potash.  6.  An  animal  oil,  to  which 
he  attributed  the  peculiar  odor  of  yolk.  He  found 
the  yolk  of  French  and  Spanish  Merinos  essentially 
the  same. 

This  substance  is,  then,  substantially  a  soap — and 
the  usual  terms  of  grease,  oil,  etc;,  are  not  correctly 
applied  to  it.  It  washes  freely  from  the  hands,  except 
that  an  unctuous  feeling  is  left  by  the  trace  of  fatty 
matter  in  it.  The  ^ hands  of  shearers,  kept  covered 
with  it  for  a  number  of  days,  grow  perceptibly  softer 
and  whiter  at  every  washing. 

With  a  few  hours'  previous  soaking,  it  will  wash  al- 
most entirely  out  of  wool  in  soft,  warmish  brook 
water,  except  perhaps,  the  external  black  gum.  Let 
sheep  be  exposed  to  a  warm  rain  long  enough  to  wet 
through  the  wool,  and  let  them  then  be  thoroughly 

*  In  the  fleece  of  the  first  imported  French  Merino  I  ever  opened — 
not  apparently  a  very  yolky  one,  and  quite  light  colored  externally — 
I  found  some  of  these  concretions  as  large  as  an  ordinary  boan 
flattened. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  129 

washed  the  next  day  in  soft  water  falling  in  a  swift 
heavy  current  over  a  mill-dam,  or  from  an  aqueduct, 
and  the  owner  will  find  (perhaps  to  his  consternation) 
that  even  his  black  gum  has  disappeared,  unless,  per- 
haps, on  old  rams  and  a  few  incorrigibly  dirty  and 
"  gummy"  ewes.  Yolk  of  any  form  that  will  remain 
in  visible  masses  in  the  wool  after  such  a  wasjiing,  is 
improperly  there ;  and  he  who  cultivates  it  pursues  an 
illegitimate  line  of  breeding.  Few  or  none  of  our 
farmers  wash  their  sheep  thus,  on  the  ground  that 
buyers  will  make  no  adequate  compensation  for  the 
cleaner  and  lighter  condition  of  the  wool. 

In  the  hard  water  of  the  limestone  regions,  wool 
washes  much  less  cleanly.  And  I  am  informed  by 
experienced  wool  buyers  that  much  more  yolk  appears 
in  the  same  wool  and  sheep  in  some  regions  than  in 
others.  Ohio  and  Michigan  fine  wools  are  said  to  be 
ten  per  cent,  freer  from  yolk  than  New  York  wools, 
and  New  York  ten  per  cent,  freer  than  Yermont 
wools.*  I  know  by  my  own  experience  that  sheep 
driven  from  the  wheat  soils  of  Onondaga  county  be- 
come lighter  colored  in  Cortland  county.  Taken  back, 
the  same  sheep  again  resume  their  dark  color. 

There  are  some  incidental  and  easily  explainable 
reasons  for  a  part  of  this.  On  wheat  lands,  sheep  are 
put  on  stubbles  and  become  dirtier.  The  heaviest 
fleeced  flocks  of  Yermont,  from  which  high-priced 
breeding  sheep  are  sold,  are  sheltered  in  summer  as 
well  as  winter  from  rain,  and  thus  all  their  natural 
yolk  is  retained. 

There  is  another  explanation  of  the  difference  in 
this  particular  between  Ohio,  New  York  and  Yermont 
*  I  am  not  sure  that  this  remark  applies  to  all  parts  of  Ohio. 

6* 


130  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

wools.  This  is  in  the  breed  of  the  sheep.  Ohio  has 
a  smaller  proportion  of  the  heavy  fleeced  yolky  Meri- 
nos than  New  York,*  and  New  York  a  less  propor- 
tion (though  a  larger  number  in  the  aggregate)  than 
Vermont. 

The  uses  of  yolk  have  been  stated  by  all  writers  to 
render  ,the  wool  pliant  and  to  promote  its  growth. 

*  According  to  the  census  of  1850,  the  average  weight  of  fleeces  in 
Ohio  fell  not  greatly  below  that  of  New  York ;  but  that,  I  take  it, 
was  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  common,  low  grade,  dry-wooled 
farmer's  sheep  of  Ohio  are  larger  and  heavier  fleeced  animals  than 
those  of  New  York.  If  limestone  land  and  water,  feeding  on  stub- 
bles, etc.,  either  increases  the  yolk  (which  is  very  doubtful)  or 
increases  the  amount  of  dirt  caught  and  retained  by  the  yolk ;  and  if 
limestone  water  fails  to  remove  these  as  thoroughly  as  soft  water  (both 
of  which  are  undoubtedly  facts),  then  much  of  the  grain  growing  por- 
tions of  both  Ohio  and  New  York  should  produce  heavier  washed  or 
unwashed  fleeces  than  New  England,  or  than  the  southern  tier  coun- 
ties of  New  York ;  and  so  I  have  no  doubt  they  would,  if  all  other 
circumstances  were  made  strictly  equal.  On  the  best  wheat  lands  of 
New  York,  sheep  do  not  require  to  be  fed  on  stubbles  to  get  dirty. 
Those  lands  are  generally  seeded  down  with  red  clover,  which  does 
not,  under  any  circumstances,  form  so  close  a  sod  as  the  timothy,  June 
grass,  white  clover,  etc.,  of  the  grazing  regions,  and  particularly  not 
where  it  is  broken  up  every  two  or  three  years  in  the  usual  way  for 
grain.  It  is  rare  to  see  a  clover  pasture  in  the  grain  regions  closely 
fed  down,  where  the  ground  is  not  in  every  direction  visible  between 
the  stools  of  clover ;  and  the  sharp  hoofs  of  the  sheep  loosen  the  dirt 
in  summer,  soihat  hi  one  way  or  another  it  soils  the  surface  of  the 
wool.  In  the  old  pastures  of  many  portions  of  New  England  and  our 
own  southern  counties,  it  would  be  difficult  to  see  the  ground  on  one 
hundred  acres.  Unless  the  sheep  have  it  blown  on  them  from  the  roads 
or  plowed  fields,  by  the  winds,  they  scarcely  come  in  contact  with  a 
particle  of  dirt  during  the  summer.  These  facts  explain  the  differences 
in  the  color  of  the  sheep  in  the  two  regions.  The  violent  and  pouring 
rains  of  the  Southern  States  prevent  a  great  accumulation  of  either 
yolk  or  dirt,  so  that  all  Merino  sheep  from  the  North  grow  lighter 
colored  there,  and  climate  may  add  to  the  effect. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  131 

The  structure  of  wool,  discovered  by  modern  investi- 
gation, suggests  other  uses.  Wool  is  covered  with 
sharp  projections,  running  in  a  uniform  direction  from 
the  root  towards  the  outer  end.  They  may  be  com- 
pared to  the  projections  on  the  beards  of  wheat  or 
barley,  only  they  are  so  fine  that  it  requires  a  power- 
ful microscope  to  observe  them.  Mr.  Youatt,  the  dis- . 
coverer  of  them,  found  2,560  in  the  space  of  an  inch 
on  fine  Merino  wool,  2,720  on  an  inch  of  Saxon  wool, 
and  that  their  number  increased  in  proportion  to  the 
fineness  of  the  fibre.  These  inconceivably  minute 
points  occasion  the  felting  of  wool.  Remove  them  by 
heated  combs,  as  is  done  in  the  manufacture  of  wor- 
steds, and  wool  will  not  felt  more  than  hair. 

Every  motion  of  the  sheep  causes  the  portions  of 
the  fleece  between  the  surface  cracks  to  slide  on  each 
other.  Those  cracks  are  the  joints  of  the  fleece.  If 
these  masses  were  utterly  dry,  instead  of  being  lubri- 
cated with  yolk,  the  continual  friction  of  their  sides 
would  cause  injurious  abrasion.  The  sharp  processes 
which  cause  felting  would  be  rubbed  off  from  a  por- 
tion of  the  wool,  and  that  property  of  the  wool  pro- 
portionably  damaged.  Again  :  if  the  wool  were  dry, 
heavy  rains,  rubbing  together  and  other  circumstan- 
ces, would  unquestionably  cause  felting  on  the  carcass, 
and  in  the  case  of  very  fine  wooled  sheep,  to  a  de- 
structive extent.  I  have  never  seen  either  of  these 
uses  of  yolk  suggested  before ;  but  am  I  mistaken  in 
supposing  that  the  facts  are  too  obvious  to  admit  of 
question  ? 

To  what  extent  yolk  should  be  propagated  in  wool, 
is  a  matter  of  some  doubt.  If  the  manufacturer  will 
pay  the  same  price  for  it  he  pays  for  the  wool,  it  is 


132  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

certainly  profitable  to  add  as  much  of  it  to  the  fleece 
as  is  consistent  with  the  greatest  product  of  wool. 
But  I  think  it  admits  of  no  dispute  that  the  excessive 
amount  sometimes  seen — giving  to  the  long  fleece, 
under  a  hot  autumn  or  spring  sun,  the  appearance  of 
having  been  literally  soaked  in  some  oily  fluid,  is  not 
often  the  accompaniment  of  a  specially  thick  fleece, 
or  of  one  which  gives  the  best  account  of  itself  after 
scouring.*  The  heaviest  fleeced  flocks  of  our  country 
do  not  present  this  appearance.  Perhaps  such  an  ex- 
cess of  secretion  in  one  direction  withdraws  it  from 
other  and  concurrent  channels.  This  suspicion  is  cer- 
tainly reasonable,  if  yolk,  as  has  been  believed  among 
both  the  learned  and  unlearned,  constitutes  a  portion 
of  the  pabulum  of  wool. 

Few  persons,  perhaps,  understand  how  great  a  quan- 
tity of  yolk  is  really  found  in  some  fleeces.  Chester 
Moses,  an  intelligent  woolen  manufacturer  of  Marcel- 
lus,  New  York,  writes  me  that  in  1861  he  cleansed  a 
ram's  fleece,  which  weighed  in  the  yolk  19|  Ibs.,  and 
"  found  4  Ibs.  of  wool."  The  owner  had  paid  a  large 
price  for  the  animal.  Mr.  Moses  has  reported  to  me, 
in  conversation,  a  number  of  other  equally  strong  cases, 
but  as  he  asks  in  his  letter  to  be  "  spared  from  saying 
more,"  I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to  cite  them. 

All  Merino  rams'  fleeces  waste  much  more  in  cleans- 
ing than  ewes'  fleeces,  but  will  any  one  undertake  to 
say  that  it  is  good  legitimate  breeding  to  grow  rams 
even  whose  natural  fleeces  will  shrink  nearly  four- 
fifths  in  washing  !  Breeding .  such  sheep  may  lead 

*  The  idea  advanced  by  most  of  our  early  writers  on  Merinos,  that 
the  more  the  yolk  the  finer  the  fleece,  is  now  utterly  exploded. 


FINE    WOOL   SHEEP   HUSBANDRY.  133 

to  one  excellent  result.  When  it  has  become  suf. 
ficiently  general,  it  will  drive  manufacturers  to 
make  juster  discriminations  than  they  now  do  be- 
tween moderately  yolky  and  excessively  yolky  wools ; 
but  the  moment  that  desirable  object  is  attained, 
the  sheep  which  produced  the  change  must  go  out  of 
fashion. 

These  wet  looking  sheep  do  not  bear  excessive  cold 
as  well  as  those  having  only  a  reasonable  amount  of 
yolk.  Every  flock  master  has  found  that  they  soonest 
"  curl  up"  and  shiver  in  the  biting  gale.  Soap  is  not 
as  warm  as  wool,  and  the  congellation  of  this  soap 
towards  the  outer  extremity  of  the  wool  leaves  open 
these  surface  cracks  so  as  to  let  in  wind  and  cold 
more  than  they  are  let  in  through  drier  fleeces. 

I  have  already  given  a  criterion  for  deciding  what 
kinds  or  qualities  of  yolk  should  certainly  be  regarded 
.  as  improper.  Our  best  breeders,  however,  go  further, 
and  decidedly  object  to  much  internal  "gum," 
whether  it  will  wash  out  or  not.  They  think  the 
wool  should  open  freely  on  the  back  and  sides  of  the 
animal  and  without  sticking  together,  except  at  the 
end,  at  any  period  of  the  year.  They  desire  a  liberal 
quantity  of  yolk  in  its  most  fluid  form,  and  of  conse- 
quence cannot  object  to  a  moderate  degree  of  external 
"gum;"  but  neither  the  excessively  wet  looking 
sheep  I  have  mentioned,  nor  those  which  look  as  if 
they  had  a  thick,  continuous  coating  of  tar  and  lamp- 
black extending  three-sixteenths  of  aji  inch  into  the 
wool,  are  in  favor  among  the  best  breeders. 

Yauquelin  assumed  that  the  yolk  left  in  sheared 
wool  begins  to  injure  it  after  a  few  months  if  not 
scoured  out.  I  find  by  inquiry  that  the  same  opinion 


134  FINE    WOOL   SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

prevails  among  our  manufacturers.  The  best  brook- 
washed  Merino  wool,  exposed  to  the  air  after  shear- 
ing, gradually  loses  its  lustre  and  softness  and  turns 
yellowish.  For  a  time  it  acquires  a  waxy  feeling,  but 
gradually  becomes  dry  and  harsh. 

Formerly,  like  many  other  breeders,  I  attached 
considerable  importance  to  the  color  of  yolk,  believing 
that  it  must  be  white,  or  rather  colorless,  so  the  wool 
would  open  a  pure  white ;  but  Mr.  T.  S.  Faxton,  of 
Utica,  K  Y.,  Mr.  James  Koy,  of  West  Troy,  K  Y., 
and  Mr.  A.  W.  Hunter,  of  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  all 
practical  woolen  manufacturers,  to  whom  I  addressed 
special  inquiries  on  the  subject,  assured  me  that  the 
color  of  the  yolk  is  of  no  consequence  to  the  manu- 
facturer ;  and  they  also  say  that  its  quantity  and  con- 
sistency are  only  important  so  far  as  they  cause  loss 
in  scouring.  Mr.  Faxton,  however,  excepts  black 
"  gum"  on  the  outer  end,  which  he  says  he  clips  off. 
He  manufactures  fine  cassimeres. 

Mr.  Roy  puts  the  cost  of  removing  the  yolk  at 
"  not  over  a  quarter  of  a  cent  per  pound,"  and  the 
shrinkage  in  scouring  of  "  fine  fleeces,  fairly  washed 
before  shearing,"  from  35  to  50  per  cent.;  "  Merino 
flocks  seldom  under  45  to  50  per  cent."  He  thinks 
"  it  makes  no  difference  to  the  farmer  what  appear- 
ance the  oil  [yolk]  exhibits." 

Mr.  Hunter  puts  the  cost  of  cleansing  at  one-half 
to  one  cent  a  pound ;  says  he  "  always  obtains  the 
strongest  staple  from  healthy,  well-fed  and  conse- 
quently oily  [yolky]  sheep,  and  the  tender,  poorly 
grown  wool  from  ill-conditioned  and  lean  sheep ;" 
and  he  sets  down  the  shrinkage  in  scouring  (brook- 
washed  wools  he  undoubtedly  means)  at  25  to  50  per 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRU.  135 

cent.,  and  "  even  a  higher  percentage  of  loss  on  rams' 
and  fat  wethers'  fleeces." 

Mr.  L.  Pomroy  &  Sons,  woolen  manufacturers  of 
Pittsfield,  Mass.,  write  that  "  the  yolk  has  more  ten- 
dency to  grow  the  wool  together,  and  cannot  be 
scoured  out  to  take  even  colors,  particularly  an  indigo- 
blue."  The  word  yolk  is  undoubtedly  here  used  (as 
some  writers  have  used  it)  to  signify  that  bright 
saffron-colored  substance  which  appears  on  wool, 
which  is  technically  termed  u  yellowed,"  and  which 
is  accompanied  with  more  or  less  felting  on  the  back, 
or  "  cotting,"  as  farmers  term  it.  In  "  cotted"  fleeces 
the  felting  sometimes  extends  but  a  little  distance 
from  the  skin,  sometimes  far  enough  to  prove  very  in- 
jurious. 

I  find  the  color  of  the  yolk  in  the  original  Spanish 
sheep  alluded  to  but  by  very  few  writers.  But  Lord 
Somerville,  who  visited  Spain  in  1802  for  the  purpose 
of  examining  its  Merinos  and  bringing  home  a  flock, 
and  who  is  generally  a  very  accurate  writer,  makes 
the  following  statement  in  his  Essay  on  Sheep  :  "  By 
yolk  is  meant  that  yellow  substance  which  escapes 
from  the  skin  and  is  to  be  found  in  the  wool  of  every 
Merino  sheep  when  in  health  and  good  condition." 
And  the  very  name  of  yolk  for  this  substance,  which 
I  believe  came  from  Spain,  would,  if  I  have  not  mis- 
taken its  derivation,  simply  the  same  fact.  I  take  it 
for  granted  that  it  obtained  that  name  from  its  resem- 
blance in  color  and  consistency  to  the  yolk  of  an  egg. 

I  have  pursued  this  question  of  color  thus  far  be- 
cause the  establishment  of  an  imaginary  criterion  of 
excellence  is  always  very  unfortunate  to  the  breeder. 
It  not  only  directs  his  time  and  efforts  towards  an 


136  FINE   WOOL   6HEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

object  of  no  importance,  but  inasmuch  as  the  attain- 
ment of  any  real  or  fancied  excellence  -is  generally 
accompanied  by  some  sacrifice  in  other  quarters,  it 
causes  him,  so  far  as  that  sacrifice  extends,  to  ex- 
change substance  for  shadow.  I  have  seen  a  pur- 
chaser reject  the  obviously  better  animal  because  its 
yolk  was  yellow,  while  that  of  the  selected  one  was 
white  or  colorless. 

Housing    Sheep    to    Preserve   Yolk   in    the   Wool, 
Early  Shearing,    Pampering, 

As  already  remarked,  the  flocks  of  Merinos  in  Yer- 
inont  and  a  few  in  New  York  from  which  high-priced 
breeding  sheep  are  sold,  are  sheltered  not  only  from  the 
storms  of  winter,  but  from  the  rains  of  summer ;  and 
even  in  the  pleasantest  weather  many  of  the  flocks 
do  not  lie  out  of  doors  nights  more  than  about  two 
and  a  half  months  in  the  year. 

This  is  done  to  retain  all  the  natural  yolk  in  the 
wool.  Rain  and  even  dew  to  some  degree  dissolve 
and  rinse  it  out.  The  object  of  retaining  it  is  to  pre- 
serve that  dark  coating  which  is  so  much  sought  after, 
and  because  it  forms  an  important  auxiliary  in  the 
weight  of  those  monster  unwashed  fleeces  which  is  to 
be  proclaimed  to  the  world.* 

*  A  class  of  settlers  attain  the  first  object,  and  to  gome  extent  the 
second,  by  a  shorter  and  cheaper  process.  They  color  their  sheep 
with  a  preparation  of  burnt  umber  and  oil,  which  forms  a  coating  sr 
closely  resembling  that  of  a  highly  yolky  housed  sheep,  that  it  re- 
quires considerable  experience  to  detect  the  difference.  This  is  termed 
in  Vermont  "the  Cornwall  finish."  No  Vermont  breeder  of  charac- 
ter thus  colors  Ms  sheep  ;  but  many  of  the  "  Merinos"  driven  from 
that  State  and  hawked  through  the  Middle  and  Western  States  for  the 
last  twenty  years,  have  been  thus  colored.  • 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  137 

The  sheep  which  are  to  be  sold  are  usually  sheared 
about  the  first  of  May,  and  some  of  them  earlier. 

If  a  number  of  sheep  were  selected  from  the  same 
flock  so  closely  resembling  each  other,  that  if  divided 
into  two  parcels  one  could  scarcely  choose  between 
them,  and  then  if  one  of  these  parcels  were  treated  as 
above  described,  and  the  other  in  the  ordinary  way ; 
that  is  to  say,  if  the  latter  were  wholly  unhoused 
except  in  winter,  and  not  sheared  until  near  the  first 
of  July,  no  inexperienced  person  who  should  examine 
the  two  parcels  in  the  ensuing  fall  or  winter,  could  be 
made  to  believe  they  were  sheep  of  the  same  quality. 
Explain  to  him  fully  the  difference  in  their  treatment, 
and  still  the  effect  produced  upon  his  eyes  would  so 
far  control  his  judgment  that  he  would  pay  twice  as 
much  for  the  housed  and  early  sheared  sheep. 

The  leading  breeders  of  Yermont  are  guilty  of  no 
deception  in  these  particulars,  for  they  frankly  avow 
their  treatment  and  their  motives  for  it.  And  they 
might  ask  if  it  is  not  as  legitimate  to  put  a  sheep  as  a 
horse  or  any  other  piece  of  property  in  its  best  form 
for  sale. 

But  it  is  undeniable  that  the  practices  named  lead 
to  many  disappointments.  The  buyer  never  finds  hif 
sheep  looking  so  dark-colored  again,  and  he  is  aston- 
ished sometimes  to  find  that  after  he  has  sheared  them 
once,  these  supposed  prodigies  are  no  "  woolier"  than 
sheep  he  owned  before.  Besides,  the  sheep  which  has 
been  carefully  housed  from  storms  all  its  life  does  not 
always  do  so  well  when  exposed  to  them. 

It  costs  no  trifling  sum  to  house  sheep  in  the  sum- 
mer. On  a  large  establishment,  and  with  flocks 
scattered  in  distant  fields,  the  expense  and  trouble 


138  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

would  be  highly  onerous.  The  early  shearing,  too, 
causes  much  additional  labor  in  protecting  the  sheep 
from  the  cold  spring  weather.  It  is  not  seriously 
claimed  that  either  of  these  practices  benefit  the 
sheep*  or  add  to  their  product  of  cleansed  wool.  If 
all  flock  masters  were  to  adopt  them  they  would  not 
even  help  the  interests  of  the  seller. 

Without  wishing  to  attach  any  censure  to  such 
honorable  persons  who  now  employ  these  modes  of 
fitting  their  sheep  ftxrsale,  as  avow  them  to  all  persons 
wishing  to  purchase,  whether  questioned  on  the  subject 
or  not,  I  may  be  permitted  to  express  the  hope  that 
such  a  purely  unnecessary  waste  of  labor  and  capital 
may  not  become  customary  throughout  the  thorough- 
bred flocks  of  our  country. 

I  should  not  satisfy  my  convictions  of  duty  if  I  did 
not  utter  my  earnest  protest  in  this  connection  against 
another  practice  introduced,  and  to  some  extent  keep- 
ing pace  with  the  preceding  ones — ^that  of  over-feeding 
sheep  not  intended  for  slaughter.  A  portion  of  those 
people  who  shelter  their  flocks  in  the  summer  and 
autumn,  commence  giving  them  grain  at  the  same 
time ;  and  the  only  limits  to  their  feeding  in  winter 
are  the  appetite  of  the  animal,  and  the  necessary  care 
for  its  immediate  safety.  Yery  high  condition  not 
only  adds  to  the  size,  roundness,  apparent  compact- 

*  In  some  places  housing  is  necessary  against  dogs ;  but  in  that 
case  they  should  be  housed  all  the  year. 

Some  claim  that  the  early  sheared  sheep  winter  better ;  but  five 
months'  growth  of  wool  before  December  ought  to  be  quite  sufficient 
for  the  protection  of  heavy  fleeced  and  winter-housed  sheep.  Others 
claim  that  early  sheared  sheep  "  coat  over"  better  (grow  darker  col- 
ored with  yolk);  and  this  is  probably  true.  At  all  events  they  become 
dark  colored  earlier  in  the  season. 


FINE   WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  139 

ness,  and  "nearness  to  the  ground"  of  the  carcass, 
but  quite  as  materially  to  the  growth  of  wool  and  the 
secretion  of  yolk.  Between  a  ram  allowed  to  run 
with  ewes,  unsheltered  except  in  winter,  and  in  all 
respects  treated  in  the  ordinary  way,  and  the  same 
ram  used  to  ewes  singly,  sheltered  from  rain  and  dew, 
and  constantly  fed  to  the  verge  of  safety,  the  differ- 
ence in  the  weight  of  even  the  washed  fleece  will  not 
fall  short  of  about  20  per  centum  ;  but  if  the  fleece  is 
weighed  in  the  yolk,  as  is  the  custom  among  owners 
of  show  sheep,  the  difference  will  often  reach  33^  per 
centum. 

What  is  the  object  of  this  pampering  ?  Under  any 
circumstances,  and  especially  in  connection  with  early 
shearing  and  summer  sheltering,  it  fits  sheep  entirely 
to  outshow  and  excel  in  the  product  of  wool  far  better 
unpampered  ones ;  and  these  considerations  influence 
buyers  just  in  proportion  to  their  inexperience  and 
ignorance  of  "  the  tricks  of  the  trade."  No  sensible 
man  will  seriously  pretend  that,  taking  one  year  with 
another,  the  actual  increase  of  wool  by  such  means 
will  pay  for  the  employment  of  those  means.  Every 
experienced  flock  master  knows  that  it  destroys  the 
hardiness  of  the  animal.  Most  of  these  pampered 
sheep  go  down  at  once,  or  gradually  fail  in  vigor,  and 
at  length  succumb  to  the  slightest  casualty,  if  put 
back  on  common  feed,  and  subjected  to  the  ordinary 
treatment.  And  even  if  the  forcing  system  is  con- 
tinued, the  constitution  eventually  becomes  so  effete 
that  it  requires  extra  care  and  skill  to  guard  against 
accidents.  The  slightest  one  produces  fatal  conse- 
quences. It  is  next  to  impossible  to  combat  any 
disorder  successfully  in  a  long-pampered  sheep,  or 


140  FINE   WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

raise  it  up  again  if  it  becomes  poor  or  debilitated. 
The  vital  energies  appear  to  be  all  exhausted. 

How  often  has  a  zealous  beginner  paid  an  extraor- 
dinary price  for  animals  (whether  Merinos,  South 
Downs,  Long-wools  of  this  or  that  designation,  Short- 
Horn  cattle,  &c.),  to  find  that  with  his  utmost  pains 
he  cannot  keep  up  either  their  appearance  or  their 
productiveness  ?  His  Merino  sheep  produce  a  third 
less  wool.  The  word  of  promise  was  kept  to  the  ear 
but  broken  to  the  hope.  He  was  told  with  verbal 
truthfulness  that  they  had  yielded  this  or  that  enor- 
mous amount  of  wool  and  yolk  in  a  year,  but  he  was 
not  told  that  it  was  in  part  produced  by  an  unnatural 
and  destructive  system  of  forcing  /  that  he  was  buy- 
ing a  spent  hot-bed,  capable  under  no  circumstances 
of  another  such  yield,  and  soon  to  become  worthless. 

If  the  sheep  breeder  has  as  good  a  right  as  the  horse 
breeder  to  "  fit  his  animals  for  sale,"  it  would  be  an 
insult  to  common  morality  and  common  decency  to 
claim  that  either  of  them  has  the  right  purposely  and 
materially  to  impair  the  constitution  and  value  of  his 
animals,  to  obtain  a  readier  sale  and  a  higher  price 
than  neighbors  who  do  not  resort  to  such  swindling 
tricks.  The  only  pretence  of  justification  is  the  old 
one :  "  If  my  neighbor  does  so,  I  must  or  sell  nothing." 
If  this  excuse  is  valid,  then  every  man  has  a  right  to 
steal  to  keep  up  with  thievish  neighbors ! 

Fortunately  the  practice  is  comparatively  new  and 
limited  in  our  country,  so  far  as  regards  the  American 
Merino  sheep.  If  leading  breeders  will  rigorously 
eschew  and  brand  it  with  their  outspoken  condemna- 
tion, it  will  soon  disappear.  If  they  will  not,  at  least 
the  buyer  has  a  patent  duty  in  the  premises,  and  that 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  14:1 

is  to  avoid  every  highly  pampered  flock  as  tainted  by 
fraud  /  and  can  he  who  attempts  a  fraud  in  one  par- 
ticular be  trusted  in  others  ?  are  his  pedigrees  of  sheep 
of  any  value  \ 

While  I  intend  to  be  distinctly  understood  as  not 
including  early  shearing  and  summer  sheltering,  if 
avowed,  among  frauds,  I  again  call  attention  to  the 
fact  that  they  can  be  and  are  made  potent  auxiliaries 
by  those  who  pamper  for  dishonest  purposes.,  and 
therefore  they  have  the  odor  of  bad  association  on 
them.  Is  this  not  an  additional  reason  for  abandoning 
them  ?  Is  it  not  the  safest,  fairest,  and  best  course,  on 
the  whole,  to  abandon  all  unnecessary*  and  over  arti 
ficial,  and  for  all  legitimate  objects,  wholly  profitless 
systems  in  the  management  of  our  sheep  ?  These  re- 
marks imply  no  objection  to  good  keep  in  summer 
and  winter,  and  to  good  winter  shelter;  and  though  a 
cavil  might  be  raised  as  to  where  the  demarcation  line 
is  to  be  drawn  between  good  keep  and  pamperingj 
every  flock  master,  possessing  common  sense,  will  fully 
understand  the  distinction  without  any  explanations. 

Breeding. 

The  art  of  breeding  is  the  art  of  selecting  and 
coupling  together  those  males  and  females  which  are 
best  adapted  to  produce  an  improved  and  uniform  off- 

*  There  are  places,  undoubtedly,  where  it  may  be  more  prudent  to 
shut  up  sheep  nights  to  protect  them  from  dogs.  Where  this  is  im- 
mediately stated  to  you  by  a  gentleman  like  William  Chamberlain,  in 
regard  to  his  costly  imported  sheep,  you  feel  that  there  is  a  necessity 
for  it ;  and  if  he  frankly  adds  that  he  prefers  thus  to  preserve  the  color 
of  his  sheep,  according  to  the  German  system  to  which  they  have 
ever  bsen  used,  you  are  fully  satisfied  with  his  motives. 


142  FINE   WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY 

spring.  Some  of  its  important  principles  have  already 
been  alluded  to  under  preceding  heads.  The  first 
great  rule  of  breeding  is  that  like  produces  like.  But 
this  must  be  held  to  extend  to  blood  as  well  as  indi- 
vidual characteristics,  or  else  it  is  a  rule  which  will 
mislead  the  inexperienced.  Let  two  mongrel  animals 
of  the  closest  resemblance  be  coupled  together,  and 
there  is  not  the  least  certainty  that  they  will  repro- 
duce themselves  in  their  offspring,  or  that  their  off- 
spring, of  different  years,  will  be  like  each  other.  I 
have  -already  spoken  of  the  cropping  out  of  base  blood. 
Iii  selecting  animals  for  coupling,  especial  pains 
should  be  taken  not  to  interbreed  those  possessing  the 
same  defect,  because  in  that  case  observation  proves 
that  the  offspring  inherit  something  like  the  aggregate 
of  the  defect  of  both  parents — that  is  to  say,  if  the  ram 
is  defective  in  the  crops  (in  proper  fulness  back  of  the 
shoulders),  to  an  extent  expressed  by  2,  and  the  ewe 
to  an  extent  expressed  by  3,  their  offspring  will  pos- 
sess the  defect  to  something  like  the  extent  of  5.  Of 
course,  this  rule  is  not  invariable,  and  would  not  con- 
tinue to  apply  to  its  full  extent  if  breeding  between 
the  produce  of  these  similarly  defective  animals  was 
continued,  for  in  that  case  they  would  soon  have  no 
crops  at  all.  I  like  the  arithmetical  form  of  the  state- 
ment, however,  because  it  holds  up  before  the  mind 
in  a  tangible  and  impressive  form  the  consequences 
of  one  of  the  worst  errors  of  bad  breeding.* 

*  It  would  be  strictly  accurate  to  say  that  if  animals  possessing  the 
same  defect  are  interbred  with  each  other,  the  offspring  should  be 
expected  to  inherit  that  defect  to  a  greater  extent  than  either  parent, 
and  that  continuing  such  a  course  of  breeding  would  soon  increase 
the  defect  to  the  greatest  practicable  extent,  and  in  the  case  of  defects 
affecting  the  constitution  of  the  animal,  to  a  fatal  extent. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  143 

A  defect  may  be  an  individual  or  family  one.  The 
latter  is  far  more  likely  to  be  transmitted  to  the  pro- 
geny. The  other  sometimes  appears  to  be  accidental, 
and  is  not  forcibly  transmitted.  I  would  rather  breed 
from  a  slightly  defective  animal  from  a  very  perfect 
family,  than  from  a  very  perfect  animal  from  a  slight- 
ly defective  family. 

The  obstinacy  with  which  family  peculiarities  are 
sent  down  to  remote  generations,  finds  constant  exem- 
plifications. Do  we  not,  in  the  red  and  tawny  and 
occasionally  black  spots  which  appear  on  the  legs, 
ears,  and  even  bodies  of  new  born  Merino  lambs,  find 
traces  of  the  fine-wooled  flocks  of  those  colors  in 
Spain,  described  ages  ago  by  Strabo,  Pliny  and 
Columella?  Between  1824  and  1826  David  Ely,  of 
Pompey,  ~N.  Y.,  purchased  an  imported  Saxon  ram 
of  surprising  individual  excellence,  but  marked  with 
this  peculiarity:  his  ears  were  not  half  the  length  or 
breadth  of  the  normal  ear.*  He  transmitted  the  same 
peculiarity  to  his  offspring,  and  they  retransmitted  it. 
I  have  seen  animals  of  the  fifteenth  or  twentieth  cross 
away  from  these  "little  eared  sheep,"  as  they  are 
called — that  is,  no  ram  possessing  that  characteristic 
was  used  in  all  those  crosses — and  yet  the  peculiarity 
was  fully  preserved.  I  have  seen  large,  coarse-wool- 
ed  mutton  sheep,  with  Mr.  Ely's  Saxon  blood  nearly 
all  bred  out,  arithmetically  speaking,  carrying  the 

*  I  think  Mr.  Grove  told  me  that  this  peculiarity  first  originated 
accidentally  or  as  a  monstrosity  in  Saxony,  but  that  as  it  occurred  on  a 
very  superior  animal,  the  owner  continued  to  breed  from  him  and  his 
descendants.  They  failed,  however,  to  obtain  a  permanent  standing, 
as  their  ears  did  not  admit  of  either  of  the  German  systems  of  num- 
bering on  those  members 


144:  FINE   WOOL   SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

same  distinctive  mark.  If  it  disappears  for  a  genera- 
tion or  two,  it  often  crops  out  again  in  full  vigor. 

The  defects  of  one  parent  should  be  met  by  peculiar 
excellence  of  the  other  parent  in  the  same  point.  If 
the  dam  is  "  high  on  legs,"  she  should  be  bred  to  a 
ram  with  short  legs ;  if  thin-fleeced,  to  an  uncom- 
monly thick-fleeced  ram,  and  so  on.*  This,  however,  is 
to  be  understood  within  certain  limitations.  These 
counteractions  are  to  be  sought  within  the  circle  of 
proper  excellence  and  proper  uniformity  in  other  par- 
ticulars. The  distinguishing  features  aimed  at  in  the 
flock  are  neither  to  be  sacrificed  nor  constantly  changed 
or  disturbed  for  the  purpose  of  producing  a  sudden 
amendment  in  a  single  point. 

There  is  a  practical  fact  of  the  utmost  importance 
in  the  selection  of  breeding  rams.  All  do  not  trans- 
mit their  qualities  in  an  equal  degree  to  their  off- 
spring. The  power  to  "  mark  offspring,"  as  it  is 
termed,  according  to  my  observation,  depends  most 
on  two  properties.  The  first  and  by  far  the  most  in- 
fluential of  these  is  blood.  By  blood  I  mean  nothing 
mysterious  or  unexplainable.  I  simply  mean  that 

*  I  have  already  alluded  (under  head  of  crossing)  to  a  German  the- 
ory in  opposition  to  "violent  crossing,"  even  to  get  rid  of  defects. 
So  far  as  size  is  concerned,  I  have  no  doubt  of  its  accuracy,  but  after 
thirty  years'  observation  I  have  yet  to  learn  that  a  ram  can  be  to  oper- 
fect  in  the  characteristics  desired,  to  be  coupled  with  the  most  imper- 
fect ewe.  Nay,  I  would  go  a  step  further  in  the  direction  of  violent 
crossing,  by  coupling  animals  of  opposite  extremes  in  many  points.  For 
example :  I  would  (other  things  being  equal)  breed  dry-wooled  French 
or  coarse-wooled  sheep  to  my  yolkiest  fleeced  ram,  even  though  that 
ram  was  too  yolky  fleeced  to  be  used  with  ewes  which  already  had 
enough  yolk.  If  this  is  correct  breeding,  it  follows  that  a  defect  is 
sometimes  counteracted  by  a  defect,  or  by  an  opposite  excellence  car- 
ried so  far  as  to  become  a  defect. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  145 

blood  which  has  flowed  so  long  in  one  distinct  chan- 
nel, and  through  animals  so  closely  alike  in  all  their 
properties,  that  it  has  acquired  a  power  resembling 
that  of  species — a  power  continuously  to  reproduce 
animals  of  the  same  family  and  almost  the  same  indi- 
vidual characteristics.  Under  this  definition  the  un- 
sightly ass  may  have  as  high  and  pure  blood  as  the 
winged  courser  of  Arabia — the  miserable,  hairy,  broad- 
tailed  sheep  of  Asia  and  Africa,  as  the  far  descended 
Merino  of  Spain. 

The  ram  should  not  only  then  have  a  faultless  pedi- 
gree, but,  if  practicable,  be  drawn  from  an  old,  dis- 
tinct, well-marked  family  of  Merinos  that  have  been 
the  same  as  a  whole  and  uniform  among  themselves 
for  a  long  course  of  generations.  I  used  to  notice, 
when  I  dabbled  in  crosses  between  Merinos  and  coarse 
breeds,  that  a  ram  which  was  the  produce  of  in-and-in 
breeding  stamped  his  properties  on  the  mongrel  off- 
spring with  peculiar  force ;  and  I  am  not  certain  this 
rule  does  not  obtain  to  some  degree  among  full  bloods. 
I  am  inclined  to  question  whether  the  great  cavanas 
of  Spain,  some  of  them  once  numbering  40,000  sheep, 
would  ever  have  acquired  their  remarkable  identity 
of  characteristics  without  that  in-and-in  breeding  to 
which  they  were  subjected.  Some  intelligent  observer 
of  them  in  Spain,  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago,  whose  name 
I  do  not  now  remember,  said  that  in  every  hundred 
there  were  ten  rather  better  and  ten  rather  worse  ones, 
but  that  the  other  eighty  could  hardly  be  distinguish- 
ed one  from  another. 

The  second  property  I  have  -noticed  in  the  ram, 
which  gives  him  the  power  strongly  to  impress  his 
qualities  on  his  offspring,  is  constitutional  vigor.  He 
7 


14:6  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

should  be  thoroughly  masculine.  He  should  be  com- 
pact and  massive  in  every  part — his  large  scrotum 
almost  sweeping  the  ground.  He  should  not  have  a 
particle  of  a  "  ewe-look"  about  him.  Even  his  fleece 
should  not  be  as  fine  as  a  ewe's  fleece.  He  should 
have  strength  to  knock  down  an  ox.  He  should  have 
undaunted  courage  and  delight  in  battle — fighting 
with  desperate  determination  until  slain  or  acknowl- 
edged master  of  the  flock  !  I  have  often  seen  a  ram 
that  if  shut  in  a  barn  would  go  through  the  side  of  it 
at  a  single  blow  like  a  catapult.  Other  things  being 
equal,  such  are  more  usually,  according  to  my  experi- 
ence, the  rams  which  transmit  their  characteristics  to 
their  descendants. 

But  where  blood  and  constitutional  vigor  are  appar- 
ently equal,  there  is  still  an  undeniable  difference  in 
this  particular — how  occasioned  it  is  impossible  to  say. 
No  one  can  pronounce  confidently  that  he  has  a  prime 
sire  ram  until  the  ram  has  been  actually  tested.  Un- 
less found  to  produce  highly  excellent  and  highly  uni- 
form offspring,  the  showiest  and  costliest  animal 
should  be  promptly  abandoned.* 

The  wonderful  ram  of  mine  mentioned  in  Sheep 
Husbandry  in  the  South,f  whose  wool  Dr.  Emmons 
proved,  by  actual  admeasurement,  to  be  finer  than 

*  The  noblest  figure  of  a  ram  I  ever  saw,  without  an  exception,  and 
an  animal  for  which  the  owner  had  paid  a  high  price  two  or  three 
years  before,  was  under  my  eye  a  short  time  since.  After  looking  at 
him,  I  asked  to  see  the  lambs  gotten  by  him  the  preceding  year.  The 
owner  had  none  to  show.  He  had  not  used  him,  "because,  &c.,"  but 
had  used  a  ram  of  comparatively  insignificant  appearance.  In  the 
face  of  such  a  fact,  all  the  excuses  in  the  world  would  not  tempt  a 
sensible  man  to  give  $10  for  a  brute  which  cost  over  $200. 

f  At  page  135. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  147 

most  Saxon  wool,  and  who  yet  produced  a  heavy 
fleece  for  those  times — highly-bred  and  far  descended, 
a  model  of  beauty — did  not  reproduce  his  own  traits 
very  strongly  in  his  offspring — certainly  not  his  ex- 
ceptional fineness.  And  this  exhibits  the  effects  of 
another  well-settled  rule,  that  the  reproduction  of  ex- 
ceptional valuable  traits — exceptional  either  to  the 
variety  or  family — can  never  be  counted  on  with  con- 
fidence. It  seems  to  me,  indeed,  that  they  are  less 
reproductive  than  exceptional  bad  traits.  Nature  ap- 
pears to  have  intended  that  the  improvement  of  her 
handiwork  should  be  a  high  art,  calling  out  observa 
tion  and  intellect,  not  the  bungling  process  which  ig- 
norance and  folly  are  to  stumble  on.  • 

A  ram  of  no  extraordinary  individual  qualities  is 
sometimes  found  to  be  a  remarkable  sire.  He  who 
obtains  one  of  these  highly  valuable  sires,  should  cling 
to  him  as  he  would  to  gold,  whether  individually  he 
ranks  in  the  first  or  second  class.  This  "marking" 
property  is  sometimes  carried  so  far  that  a  familiar 
and  observing  eye  will  promptly  detect  its  effects  in  a 
strange  flock,  picking  out  every  animal  got  by  the 
particular  ram,  and  even  picking  out  his  descendants, 
if  bred  among  each  other,  for  all  subsequent  genera- 
tions. 

Present  Course  of  Breeding  in  the  United  States. 

I  shall  introduce  this  topic  with  the  following  preg- 
nant words  from  a  letter  recently  received  by  me  from 
an  observing  manufacturer.  He  writes : 

"  If  I  had  time  I  should  hesitate  to  attempt  to  an- 
swer your  interrogatories,  for  the  reason  that  the  in- 
terests of  wool-growers  and  manufacturers  from  pres- 


VINM    WOftt,   MIIICKP 


ont  ltand>polntl  arc  conflicting  awl  will  conflict  »o 


aim  oil  at  natm  priw  a*  wool.    Our  farmers  have  no 
eslro  to  learn  now  little  wool  thcv  will  ;  they  prefer 


long  ii*  the  grower  orw  wtt  Arcana  and  lar  and  yolk 

ool. 

thcv 

to  |M«  hiMtrueted  in  the  wicrot  of  adding  dirt  and  ntt 
Wftdtlod  I,iufl4  inul  dung-looks  COVOHM!  with  (1(ui(;o  mid 
woutid  wll-li  two  to  four  otifuioM  of  rojw)  yarn  called 
twlno," 


Thin  Irt  a  fair  Htatcmumt  of  the  caw*  on  both 
only  tlio  writer  niionld  liavo  ndd^d  that  iti  many 
i  H  IM.  i  liavn  InlciilioiiiiJIy  and  groatly  loworod  tlio 
(|iiality  of  t,hn  wool  It-Holf  in  ordor  to  got  nioro  weight, 
i  havo  already  doarly  takon  tlio  ground  that  medium 
WOO!H  MM-  ttioi'd  profitable  titan  tlin  finont  for  gonoral 
production  In  our  country;  hut  In  It  not  a  pity  to  »e« 
the  good,  nvnn,  true,  dantic,  wuind  and  noi't  wool 
which  the  American  Merino  inherited  from  III'H  Span 
Inli  anceMtor^  degraded  in  every  particular—  put  on  a 
par  in  value  with  hall'hlood  wool  mixed  with  hair 
and  jar  and  all  thm  done  intentionally  '^  Yet  who 
IM  to  wonder  at  it  and  at  the  additional  (Commixture 

•  •I   hliii  and  rope  yarn,  if  the  wool  i.n  .  i   will  pay 
within  i  IIM  i-  or  (our  •  •  ni     a  pound  im  much  lor  tlim 
compound  of  abotnlnatloni  an  for  good  eloan  wool! 

And  there  in  another  party  who  in  found  quite  OH 
t'cndy  to  encourage  thin  line  of  breeding  and  manage- 
ment M*  tlio  manufacturer,  namely,  the  nun  huyer, 
Doc*  he  impiire  what  iitnoitnt  of  good,  woll-wiwhod, 

•  I-  HI  wool  in  produced  hy  the  animal  he  winhoH  to 
puroliR»ol     Hy  no  moatm,     He  only  wllhoi  to  ascer- 
tain what  aggregat.o  wool,  yolk  and  dirt  can  be  sheared 
i'  "i"  it  and  called  a  lleece.     He  han  two  ohjoctH  in 
view,     Ho  want*  a  ram  surcharged  with  yolk  for  the 


MM,    v.'.'.i.    Miu.i-    nr;i;(;A:n>;ty.  MJ) 


purpose  of  breeding  up  a  flock  surcharged  with  yolk, 
and  ho  wants  one  whoso  weight  of  fleece  ho  can  boast 
of  and  perhaps  publish,  for  ho  has  some  eye  on  be- 
coming a  ram  seller  himself  by-and-by,  lie  haft 
learned  that  these  highly  yolky  rams  greatly  increase 
the  weight  of  fleece  when  bred  with  a  dry-wooled 
flock,  and  lie  strives  therefore  to  make  his  flock  as 
yolky  an  possible.  Ho  haw  not  learned  that  hoyond  a 
c<yrtain  point  thin  wotirce  of  increa«e<l  weight  prevent* 
a  further  and  Htill  attainable  irieneMe  ot  weight, 

II<5re,  too,  the  rnaniifa/ittirer  i»  re^pormihle,  for  the 
H/'irne  ineanM  which  would  <jorrw/t  illegitimate  wool- 
growing  would  correc/t  illegitimate  breeding, 

Whence  ariw;H  thin  want  of  diw,ri  mi  nation  in  prices 
on  the  part  of  our  manufacturer*  —  this  strange  abne- 
gation of  their  own  real  intcrentn  2  We  have  no  mon 
honorable  or  intelligent  clans  of  business  men,  I 
believe  none  nee  more  clearly  or  deplore  so  deeply  the 
present  course  of  things.  Jt  is  the  result  of  a  system 
almost  forced  on  them  by  circumstance,  arid  from 
which  it  is  not  easy  to  escape.  Our  farmer*  do  not 
and  will  not  send  their  wools  unsold  to  market.  The 
d6p6t  Hystcm  was  tried  and  failed,  Americans  choose 
to  do  their  own  bargaining.  There  is  but  now  and 
then  a  locality  where  there  is  wool  enough  to  pay 
for  sending  an  experienced  agent  to  it,  and  to  each 
scattering  lot  of  wool  within  it  ;  arid  the  same  agent 
could  not  traverse  a  large  region  of  country  before  the 
dip  of  the  year  would  be  picked  over  and  the  most 
desirable  lots  bought  in  by  other  purchasers.  Ac- 
cordingly, to  get  an  even  chance  to  buy  from  first  hold- 
en,  an  establishment  which  works  up  great  quanti- 
ties of  wool  must  have  an  army  of  agents  promptly 


150  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

at  work  as  soon  as  shearing  is  over  ;  and  for  the  reason 
already  stated,  local  agents  must  be  principally  relied 
on.  A  portion  of  these  are  excellent  judges  of  wool ; 
but  where  the  demand  is  active,  inexperienced  ones 
are  necessarily  employed.  To  keep  his  agents  duly 
informed,  and  to  protect  himself  from  their  indiscre- 
tions, the  principal,  from  time  to  time,  sends  out 
prices  which  are  not  to  be  exceeded.  The  agent 
works  for  a  commission,  and  is,  of  course,  anxious  to 
make  large  purchases.  If  the  competition  is  to  be 
active,  a  scramble  commences  at  shearing  time.  Three 
or  four  or  half  a  dozen  agents  start  out  from  every 
village.  Relying  more  on  the  reputation  of  each 
flock  than  on  a  business-like  inspection  of  the  quality 
and  condition  of  the  wool,  the  least  experienced  agents 
buy  most  rapidly,  and  then  rush  along  eager  to  keep 
the  lead  of  or  again  repass  other  agents  whose  horses 
are  smoking  on  the  same  road.  The  excitement  in- 
creases. All  wools  worth  within  ten  or  fifteen  cents 
of  the  maximum  price  are  dragged  up  within  two  or 
three  cents  of  it  ;  heavy  yolky  wools  are  purchased 
at  about  the  same  price  with  clean  ones  ;  in  short, 
scarce  a  shadow  of  judgment  is  employed.* 

*  A  farmer  gave  me  an  amusing  instance  of  this.  His  wool  was 
just  off.  He  stood  in  his  barn  door,  and  saw  two  agents  approaching 
with  "fast  nags."  The  first  one  rushed  into  the  barn  and  asked  the 
price  of  the  clip,  and  it  came  within  his  maximum.  He  asked  where 
the  wool  was,  and  was  told  it  was  in  the  dark  granary.  "Never 
mind,"  said  he,  "I  can  tell  just  as  well  by  feeling."  So  he  stepped 
into  the  granary,  touched  a  few  fleeces,  took  the  farmer's  offer,  jerked 
out  $25  to  "bind  the  bargain,"  sprang  into  his  sulky  and  was  off  in  a 
whirlwind  of  speed.  What  the  seller  thought  remarkable  was,  that 
he  could  feel  wool  so  well  through  his  black  kid  gloves  which  he  for- 
got to  take  off  while  in  the  barn  I  And  he  had  never  handled  the 
wool  before. 


FINE    WOOL    8HEEP    HUSBANDRY.  151 

This  system  operates  most  injuriously  on  the  pro- 
ducers of  the  best  and  cleanest  wools  who  do  not  live 
near  good  markets.  The  maximum  price  is  a  Pro- 
crustean bed  to  which  they  must  be  cut  off,  though 
their  neighbor  has  been  stretched  to  its  length  !  If 
they  refuse  to  sell  when  all  their  neighbors  are  selling, 
they  have  reason  to  fear  no  more  buyers  will  come  in 
to  pick  up  half  a  dozen  scattering  small  lots  in  a 
whole  county.  So  they  often  reluctantly  succumb 
and  get  only  two  or  three  cents  more  on  the  pound 
than  other  men  whose  wool  is  fifteen  per  cent,  coarser 
and  fifteen  per  cent,  dirtier.  This  soon  drives  them 
out  of  wool-growing  or  into  growing  coarse,  dirty 
wools. 

I  fear  that  the  manufacturer  has  looked  with  rather 
more  toleration  on  this  system,  because  sometimes 
perhaps  lie  thus  gets  enough  good  wool  under  price  to 
offset  over  payments  on  bad  and  dirty  wools.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  one  thing  is  certain,  that  if  he  con- 
tinues to  permit  the  sacrifice  of  friends  for  the  benefit 
of  enemies,  he  will  within  a  few  years  not  have 
enough  of  the  former  left  to  keep  up  the  present  equi- 
poise in  his  over  and  under  payments.  The  soap 
sheep,  as  they  should  be  called,  are  rapidly  spreading 
everywhere ;  and  farmers  seem  to  wash  their  wool 
more  and  more  poorly. 

Am  I  asked  what  practical  remedy  can  be  adopted  ? 
It  is  not  easy  to  point  it  out.  But  I  have  always 
believed  that  if  each  manufacturer  would  select  his  re- 
gions for  purchase,  buy  in  those  regions  every  year,  and 
employ  a  few  trusty  and  experienced  travelling  or 
local  agents  tied  down  by  no  maximum  price  which 
disregards  quality  and  condition,  instructed  to  buy 


152  FINE   WOOL'   SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

the  different  qualities*  and  pay  for  each  the  fair  mar- 
ket price,  he  would  soon  acquire  his  circle  of  cus- 
tomers, who,  for  safety  and  from  motives  of  policy, 
would  wait  a  reasonable  time  for  his  agents.  At 
least  this  would  be  the  case  with  the  holders  of  prime 
lots,  and  there  would  be  no  scramble  and  overpaying 
for  inferior  lots  by  themselves.  There  is  nothing 
chimerical  in  this  idea,  certainly,  when  it  is  notorious 
that  some  manufacturers  already  practice  on  it  suc- 
cessfully, and  that  much  of  the  other  produce  of  the 
country  is  bought  and  sold  in  that  way. 

Substantial  wool  merchants  planted  in  each  wool- 
growing  region,  would  afford  a  vast  relief  from  the 
present  system  to  the  producers  of  good  wools. 

In  respect  to  selling  an  outrageous  excess  of  yolk 
and  dirt  for  wool,  because  somebody  will  buy  it,  I 
shall  raise  no  questions  of  casuistry ;  but  whether 
known  or  unknown  to  the  purchaser,  it  should  be  be- 
low the  aim  of  the  elevated  breeder.  If  we  cannot 
breed  the  admirable  domestic  animals  which  have 
been  given  to  us,  without  purposely  alloying  and  de- 
grading them,  let  us  abandon  them  and  turn  to  other 
occupations. 

Suggestions  as  to  the  Future  of  Fine  Wool  Hus- 
bandry in  our  Country. 

I  am  strongly  impressed  with  the  opinion  that  the 
production  of  MUTTON  has  been  too  much  disregarded 

*  If  it  be  said  a  single  manufacturer  does  not  want  all  the  different 
qualities,  let  him,  in  regions  where  little  is  grown,  buy  att  in  order  to 
keep  his  customers  and  his  region  to  himself,  and  resell  those  he  does 
not  need.  In  regions  where  larger  quantities  are  grown,  different 
buyers  would  find  room,  and  they  might  buy  through  the  same  agent 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY.  153 

as  a  concomitant  of  the  production  of  wool.  Near 
large  meat  markets,  mutton  is  the  prime  considera- 
tion and  wool  but  the  accessory ;  remote  from  such 
markets,  the  converse  of  the  proposition  is  true.  But 
it  does  not  follow  in  either  case  that  the  secondary 
object  is  to  be  unnecessarily  neglected. 

The  increase  in  the  numbers  and  in  the  early  ma- 
turity of  sheep,  enables  England  to  support  a  vastly 
larger  population  than  it  possibly  could  have  done  100 
years  ago.  It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that  the  con- 
tinued sustenance  of  its  people  and  the  fertility  of  its 
soil  depend  upon  these  animals.  England  proper, 
with  an  area  of  50,922  square  miles,  has  thirty  mil- 
lions of  sheep.  Without  these,  its  soils  could  not  be 
maintained  in  their  present  productiveness,  and  its 
population  of  17,000,000  supplied  with  animal  and 
vegetable  food.  It  is  now  a  conceded  fact,  that  an 
equivalent  result  could  not  even  approximately  be 
obtained  by  the  substitution  of  any  other  animals. 

It  is  not  safe  in  a  country  of  vast  territory  and 
sparse  population  like  our  own,  to  decide  economic 
questions  exclusively  by  English  analogies  and  modes 
of  reasoning.  But  in  our  own  older  Northern  States, 
we  are  making  some  advance  toward  English  condi- 
tions, at  least  in  the  circumstance  of  having  a  large 
class  who  are  not  agricultural  producers :  and  we 
shall  continue  to  make  nearer  approaches  in  that  re- 
spect. 

'  We  read  much  of  the  traditional  "  roast  beef"  of 
England,  but  mutton  now  is  the  favorite  animal  food 
of  her  luxurious  classes,  and  the  cheapest  animal  food 
of  her  laboring  classes.  The  same  tastes  and  eco- 
nomic considerations  are  beginning  to  obtain  a  rapid 
7* 


154:  FIXE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

prevalence  in  this  country.  Every  experienced  meat 
producer  knows  that  a  pound  of  well  fatted  mutton 
can  be  grown  more  cheaply  than  a  pound  of  any 
other  well  fatted  meat.  And  our  consumers  are  dis- 
covering that  it  is  as  palatable  and  nutritious  as  any 
other  kind  of  animal  food,  and  wastes  materially  less 
in  cooking  than  beef.*  The  choicest  qualities  now 
command  higher  prices  in  our  markets  than  the 
choicest  qualities  of  beef.  Its  consumption  is  rapidly 
increasing  in  cities, f  and  also  in  small  inland  local 
markets  and  on  farms,  because  prime  lamb  or  mutton 
can  always  be  supplied  in  the  latter  places,  whereas 
meat  from  large  well  fatted  beeves  cannot  be,  unless 

*  The  Report  on  Sheep  Husbandry  made  to  the  Mass.  Board  of 
Agriculture  in  1860,  by  a  committee  appointed  by  that  body,  thus 
condenses  the  result  of  various  experiments  on  this  subject:  "  English 
chemists  and  philosophers,  by  a  series  of  careful  experiments,  find  that 
100  Ibs.  of  beef,  in  boiling,  lose  26^  Ibs.,  in  roasting  32  Ibs.,  and  in 
baking  30  Ibs.  by  evaporation  and  loss  of  soluble  matter,  juices,  water 
and  fat.  Mutton  lost  by  boiling  21  Ibs.,  and  by  roasting  24  Ibs. ;  or  in 
another  form  of  statement,  a  leg  of  mutton  costing  raw,  15  cents, 
would  cost  boiled  and  prepared  for  the  table,  18|  cents  a  pound; 
boiled  fresh  beef  would,  at  the  same  price,  cost  19^  cents  per  pound ; 
sirloin  of  beef  raw,  at  16£  cents,  costs  roasted  24  cents,  while  a  leg 
of  mutton  at  15  cents,  would  cost  roasted  only  22  cents.  (See  Secre- 
tary's Report,  p.  97.) 

f  The  Report  just  quoted  from  states,  that  "  at  Brighton  (near  Bos- 
ton), on  the  market  day  previous  to  Christmas,  1839,  two  Franklin 
county  men  held  400  sheep,  every  one  in  the  market,  and  yet  so  ample 
was  that  supply  and  so  inactive  the  demand,  that  they  could  not  raise 
the  market  half  a  cent  a  pound,  and  finally  sold  with  difficulty ;"  that 
"just  twenty  years  after  that  at  the  same  place,  on  the  market  day 
previous  to  Christmas,  1859,  five  thousand  four  hundred  sheep  changed 
from  the  drover  to  the  butcher."  (Secretary's  Report,  p.  96.)  This  is  but 
an  example  of  the  general  change.  It  has  not  been  produced  so  much 
by  increase  of  population,  as  by  a  change  in  the  habits  of  our 
population. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  155 

in  cold  weather,  as  such  animals  make  more  meat 
than  can  be  disposed  of  unsalted  in  such,  situations, 
i  Consequently,  vast  droves  of  grade  sheep  from  the 
•Northwestern  States  traverse  New  York  from  mid- 
Rummer  to  the  approach  of  winter,  directly  for  our 
Eastern  cities,  or  to  be  sold  in  their  vicinity  for  feed- 
ing. 

Why  not  meet  a  large  part  of  this  demand,  now 
supplied  from  abroad,  with  our  full-blood  Merino 
sheep  ?  Even  the  epicurism  of  England  has  decided 
that  this  breed  produces  prime  mutton.  Sir  Joseph 
Banks,  in  a  report  made  in  1802,  says :  "  Experience 
has  demonstrated  already,  both  at  Windsor  and  Wey- 
bridge  (the  royal  residences),  that  Spanish  mutton  is 
of  the  best  quality  for  a  gentleman's  table."  Mr. 
Wilson,  the  present  Professor  of  Agriculture  in  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  in  a  recent  excellent  paper 
on  "  The  various  breeds  of  Sheep  in  Great  Britain," 
furnished  by  him  to  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society's 
Journal,*  says :  '"  They  (the  Merinos)  are  hardy,  and 
not  more  subject  to  disease  than  our  other  breeds ; 
they  thrive  very  well  on  moderate  keep,  and  may  be 
fed  up  to  110  to  120  pounds  weight  at  two  years  old; 
the  mutton  is  considered  to  be  of  very  good  quality." 

The  report  of  Tessier  and  Hazard,  made  to  the 
Institute  in  France,  in  the  year  eight  of  the  Eepublic, 
shows  that  the  same  opinion  prevailed  even  thus  early 
in  France.  They  say  :  "  The  experiments  we  had 
formerly  made  in  feeding  of  Spanish  sheep  have  not 
been  fully  detailed.  It  has  been  undeniably  proved 
that  all  those  animals  were  fattened,  and  their  flesh 

*  Vol.  16.  It  is  republished  in  the  Transactions  of  this  Society, 
1857,  p.  219.  The  extract  I  make  will  be  found  at  p.  239. 


156  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

was  at  least  as  delicate  as  that  of  any  other  breed  of 
sheep."  Various  French  writers  confirm  these  views. 

It  is  to  be  remembered  that  in  England  the  Merino 
mutton  had  to  encounter  long-established  and  obsti- 
nate prejudices.  Its  people  were  accustomed  to 
carcasses  of  a  particular  form,  fat  laid  on  in  a  particu- 
lar way,  and  more  of  it  in  proportion  to  the  lean  meat 
than  the  Merino  readily  takes  on. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  great  body  of  Americans 
are  neither  accustomed  to,  nor  do  they  choose,  exces- 
sively fat  fresh  meats  of  any  kind,  and  particularly 
mutton.  Most  of  them,  after  attempting  to  eat  well- 
cooked  New  Leicester  or  Dishley  mutton,  with  two  and 
a  half  or  three  inches  of  outside  fat,  turn  away  from 
it  with  loathing,  or  eat  only  the  leaner  parts.  Yet 
the  English  factory  operative  or  farm  laborer  finds 
just  what  he  wants  in  that  mutton,  because  its  fat 
will,  in  soups,  &c.,  convert  a  large  amount  of  vegeta- 
bles into  more  palatable  and  nutritious  food,  and  thus 
it  will  go  further  in  imparting  the  effects  of  animal 
food  than  any  other  meat. 

The  meat  of  the  Merino,  when  well  fattened  and 
properly  treated,*  is  juicy,  short-grained,  high-colored, 
and  well  flavored.  In  all  these  particulars  American 
taste  adjudges  it  superior  to  the  meat  of  the  English 
long-wooled  sheep.  Though  the  scarcity  and  value 
of  fall-blood  Merinos  have  prevented  many  of  them 
from  appearing  in  our  markets,  the  grades  have  always 
been  favorites  with  the  butcher  and  consumer.  The 
former  finds  that  they  weigh  well  for  their  apparent 
size,  and  get  to  market  in  excellent  condition.  There 

*  A  portion  of  our  population  cook  and  eat  mutton  as  soon  as  it  is 
killed! 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  157 

is  not  a  drove  that  sweeps  from  the  plains  of  the  north- 
west that  does  not  exhibit  a  sprinkling  of  this  blood  ; 
and  if  they  are  merely  grass-fed,  the  twenty  fattest, 
and  least  travel-worn  sheep  in  the  drove  will  usually 
be  found  those  which,  by  a  little  darker  tinge  of  their 
wool,  and  its  greater  thickness  and  "  squareness  on 
the  ends,"  betray  more  Merino  blood. 

Those  people  who  pay  such  prices  in  our  cities  for 
South  Down  lambs  in  February  and  March,  are  not 
perhaps  aware  they  are  paying  for  grade  Merinos. 

Ewes  having  no  Merino  blood  do  not  allow  them- 
selves to  be  impregnated  (that  is,  generally  and  with 
regularity)  early  enough  in  autumn  to  produce  these 
lambs.  The  grade  Merino  ewes  are  bred  to  the  South 
Down  ram,  which  gives  the  offspring  additional  size, 
and  the  dark-colored  legs,  which  satisfy  fashionable 
purchasers.* 

*  Samuel  Thome,  Esq.,  of  Dutchess  Co.,  one  of  the  most  intelligent 
and  successful  breeders  in  our  State,  writes  me  on  this  subject: 

"  The  sheep  purchased  for  breeding  market  lambs  are  usually  the 
ordinary  Ohio  Merinos,  sometimes  bought  from  the  droves  as  they 
arrive,  and  sometimes  from  the  farmers  who  have  kept  them  over  one 
season.  I  always  prefer  the  latter,  the  difference  in  price  alone  caus- 
ing me  to  purchase  the  former.  "When  selecting  them,  the  point  of  the 
greatest  importance  is  to  get  good  milkers,  that  governing  the  choice 
more  than  any  thing  else,  as  the  object  is  to  get  prime  early  lambs. 
When  there  has  been  a  chance  to  select  ewes  with  a  cross  of  either 
of  the  mutton  breeds,  I  have  always  availed  myself  of  it,  though  the 
difference  in  price  between  them  and  the  ordinary  ones  is  generally 
too  great  too  make  it  as  profitable.  All  things  being  equal,  large 
sheep  are  of  course  preferable  to  small  ones.  Ewes  with  a  strong 
tincture  of  Merino.blood  take  the  ram  with  more  certainty  early  in 
the  season  than  those  deeply  crossed  with  the  mutton  breeds.  It  is, 
however,  no  advantage  to  have  the  lambs  come  too  early,  as  they  do 
not  bring  so  large  a  price  before  as  they  do  in  the  regular  season.  My 
own  ewes  are  turned  with  a  South  Down  ram  the  1st  of  September, 


158  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

The  full  blood  Merino  produces  as  good  mutton  as 
the  ordinary  country  and  western  Merino  grade,  if 
killed  as  young  and  in  as  good  condition.  I  have 
never  discovered  that  it  did  not  fatten  as  easily.  It 
costs  no  more,  in  proportion  to  weight  of  carcass,  to 
keep  it.  Its  wool  is  worth  from  a  third  to  a  half  more 
per  head.  Wherever,  therefore,  it  is  profitable  to 
grow  the  common  grade  sheep,  partly  for  mutton  and 

thus  bringing  the  lambs  the  first  part  of  February.  They  are  made  to 
grow  and  fatten  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  are  turned  off  to  the  butcher 
when  they  reach  40  pounds  in  weight.  They  are  thus  all  disposed  of 
by  the  first  of  June,  and  the  ewes  have  the  entire  summer  to  fatten 
in.  The  sheep  are  bought  usually  a  few  weeks  before  the  ram  is  to 
be  turned  with  them,  and  have  cost  from  $2.50  to  $3.00  each.  They 
are  kept  iipon  hay  alone  until  just  before  the  lambing  time,  when  a 
daily  feed  of  turnips  is  given.  After  the  lambs  come  they  are  given 
also  a  feed  of  meal  or  bran  slop.  A  place  is  partitioned  off  for  the 
lambs,  and  they  are  regularly  fed.  The  feed  going  directly  to  the 
lamb,  makes  growth  of  fat  with  more  profit,  in  my  opinion,  then  when 
given  through  the  mother's  milk.  I  cannot  say  with  any  certainty 
what  the  percentage  of  increase  with  my  common  sheep  has  been,  as 
when  possible  to  find  any  one  to  take  a  twin  lamb,  it  is  always  given 
away,  that  its  mate  may  have  the  better  chance— one  good  one  bring- 
ing in  the  early  season  a  corresponding  price,  when  poor  ones  cannot 
be  at  all  disposed  of.  They  never,  however,  average  less  than  100  per 
cent,  of  sale  sheep.  *  *  *  *  The  lambs  go  to  market  from 
two  and  a  half  to  three  months  old,  and  have,  of  course,  at  that  early 
age  to  be  in  fine  condition  to  bring  the  price  they  should  do,  or  in  fact 
even  to  meet  a  sale.  My  own  have  always  averaged  me  $5  per  head, 
bringing  more  when  first  sent  off,  and  less  later  in  the  season.  The 
ewes  having  only  to  provide  for  themselves  during  the  summer,  are 
by  fall  in  very  good  condition  and  require  a  very  little  grain  (which  is 
first  fed  to  them  as  soon  as  the  frost  injures  the  grass)  to  fit  them  for 
a  good  market.  They  have  always  averaged  $5  also.  To  this  is  to 
be  added  the  fleece,  when  you  will  see  the  return  has  always  been  a 
good  one.  It,  to  be  sure,  costs  more  and  requires  more  care  and  atten- 
tion to  fit  lambs  for  the  early  market,  but  the  extra  price  they  bring 
and  the  better  chance  which  is  given  the  ewes  to  fatten  by  getting  off 
their  lambs  so  soon,  much  more  than  compensate." 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  159 

partly  for  wool-growing  purposes,  it  is  more  profitable 
to  grow  full  blood  Merinos.  In  the  State  of  New 
York  we  could,  by  the  substitution  of  fine,  heavy 
fleeces  for  those  now  carried  by  our  grade  sheep,  profit- 
ably grow  200  per  cent,  more  of  mutton  in  the  wool- 
growing  districts  than  we  now  do. 

I  shall  nowhere*7however,  be  understood  to  advance 
the  idea  that  it  would  be  advisable  in  the  mutton  dis- 
tricts proper  (where  access  to  a  good  market  is  quick 
and  cheap)  to  substitute  the  Merino  for  the  best  Eng- 
lish mutton  varieties.  Though  I  am  not  prepared 
to  speak  from  adequate  experience  on  that  point,  the 
tenor  of  reliable  testimony  would  seem  to  be  clearly 
the  other  way. 

For  mutton  purposes  the  Merino  can  promptly  and 
readily  be  rendered  more  valuable  than  it  now  is 
without  a  diminution  of  the  quality  and  quantity  of 
its  wool.  It  probably  could  not  be  made  to  assume 
so  early  a  maturity  as  the  New  Leicester  or  the  South 
Down,  or  their  peculiar  forms  ;  but  Prof.  Wilson  has 
told  us  what  the  pure  Merino  will  weigh  at  two  years 
old,  when  fed  as  the  other  English  breeds  are  which 
exhibit  such  marvellous  earliness  of  maturity.  Early 
feeding  and  early  maturity  have  an  inseparable  con- 
nection ;  and  those  who  have  bred  English  New  Leices- 
ter sheep,  and  fed  them  only  hay  and  grass,  and  treat- 
ed them  as  we  treat  our  other  sheep,  have  found  that 
much  of  their  early  maturity  has  vanished.  But 
without  reference  to  this  consideration,  we  have  not, 
in  a  country  so  large  in  proportion  to  its  population, 
and  where  it  is  so  easy  consequently  to  supply  the  de- 
mands of  its  meat  market  without  killing  animals  at 
an  early  age,  occasion,  certainly  in  large  portions  of 


160  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

it,  for  the  early  maturity  of  animals  so  necessary  in 
England,  provided  ours  will  pay  well  for  the  addition- 
al expense  of  longer  keeping. 

I  have,  as  already  stated,  kept  Merino  sheep  more 
than  thirty  years.  During  all  the  vicissitudes  of  that 
period  the  fleeces  of  the  flock  (without  counting  those 
of  wethers  which  I  have  never  kept  in  any  consider- 
able number)  have  averaged  over  two  dollars  a  head 
per  annum.  On  the  best  lands  of  the  State  it  now 
costs  about  two  dollars  a  head  annually  to  keep  Merino 
sheep.  Any  one,  then,  is  sure  of  his  lambs  and  manure 
as  clear  gain.  "Wethers  of  the  same  flock  would  pro- 
duce fleeces  worth  about  three  dollars,  and  the  clear 
gain  on  them  annually  would  be  a  dollar  a  piece  and 
the  manure. 

The  object  of  keeping  sheep  is  to  convert  the  vege- 
table productions  of  the  farm  into  the  most  money  and 
the  most  manure.  Under  the  circumstances  I  have 
stated,  and  in  regions  where  wool-growing  is  the  pri- 
mary object,  this  is  as  well  done  by  animals  of  longer 
as  of  shorter  lives.  The  truth  is,  nobody  could  afford 
in  this  country  to  kill  his  Merinos  at  two  years  old,  if 
they  were  perfectly  matured  and  fit  for  the  butcher  at 
that  age. 

Nor  do  I  believe  the  Merino  could  readily  be  made 
to  assume  that  form  which,  like  the  most  perfect  New 
Leicester  or  South  Down,  puts  every  ounce  of  meat  on 
the  part  where  it  is  nominally  most  valuable.  At  all 
events,  I  should  decidedly  object  to  tampering  serious- 
ly with  its  present  best  form.  How  many  American 
purchasers,  in  looking  for  a  sweet,  juicy  piece  of  mut- 
ton, are  very  careful  to  examine  the  angle  of  the  rump? 
or  study  the  exact  taper  of  the  thigh,  provided  there 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  161 

is  nothing  specially  defective  in  the  shape  ?  Are  there 
not  little  shapeless  breeds  of  mountain  sheep  in  Wales 
whose  mutton  outsells  that  of  the  South  Down  ?  Are 
there  not  little,  hardy>  round,  mountain  cattle  in  Scot- 
land whose  beef  is  chosen  before  that  of  the  rectangu- 
lar Short  Horn  ?  These  refinements  are  very  well  in 
'theory  and  doubtless  of  some  practical  value,  but  they 
are  not,  in  our  markets,  essential  to  the  salableness  of 
mutton,  which  the  great  body  of  the  American  people 
already  prefer  to  that  of  the  improved  English  long- 
wooled  breeds,  and  constantly  eat,  believing  it  to  be 
South  Down  mutton  or  other  of  equal  quality. 

The  only  change  which  is  necessary  or  desirable  to 
make  in  the  form  of  the  Merino,  to  improve  it  as  a 
mutton  sheep,  is  the  same  which  it  requires  to  im- 
prove it  as  a  wool  bearing  sheep,  viz. :  to  convert  the 
flocks  which  now  deviate  from  that  standard,  into 
low,  round,  hardy,  easily  kept  sheep.  Good  lungs^ 
good  health,  and  good  animal  vigor  will  like  promote 
the  secretions  which  produce  meat  and  wool.  And 
in  the  wool-growing  regions  generally,  I  should  not 
even  consider  it  expedient  to  seek  to  increase  the 
present  size  of  what  may  be  termed  good  sized  Amer- 
ican Merinos. 

The  wethers  may  at  some  future  day  be  turned 
oft7  at  two  years  old,  under  a  system  of  feeding  analo- 
gous to  the  English,  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  t  this 
will  be  found  most  profitable.  Prime  full  blood  ewes 
will  probably  never  be  turned  off  before  they  are  six 
or  seven ;  indeed,  until  their  number  is  enormously 
increased,  they  never  will  be  turned  off  at  any  age  to 
the  butcher.  They  have  twice  or  three  times  the 
longevity  of  the  improved  English  breeds,  in  which 


162  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

early  maturity  is,  indeed,  the  precursor  if  not  the 
cause  of  an  equally  early  decline.  Merino  ewes  not 
unfrequently  raise  good  lambs  at  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years  old ;  and  the  dam  of  the  once  famous  "  Robin- 
son ram,"  I  am  informed,  had  a  lamb  in  her  twenty- 
second  year. 

In  regions  sufficiently  accessible  to  market,  it  ma/ 
become  ultimately  the  most  profitable  way  of  dis- 
posing of  full-blood  ewes,  to  adopt  Mr.  Thome's 
system  with  them  ;  raise  February  lambs  and  fatten 
off  the  ewes  in  the  fall,  when  they  are  from  six  to 
eight  years  old.  Older  ewes  should  be  allowed  to 
produce  no  lambs  the  season  they  are  to  be  fattened. 

One  more  question  remains  in  regard  to  our  future. 
It  costs  twice  as  much  to  keep  a  sheep  in  New  York 
as  on  the  plains  of  the  Northwest,  and  four  times  as 
much  as  on  the  prairies  of  Texas.  Can  we  continue 
to  bear  up  under  this  competition  ?  The  same  ques- 
tion may  as  well  be  put  in  regard  to  most  of  the  prin- 
cipal agricultural  necessaries  of  life — for  the  difference 
in  the  cost  of  production  is  equally  great  in  regard  to 
them — and  several  of  them,  too,  are  as  portable  as 
wool,  and  more  portable  than  mutton.  Do  the  New 
England  farmers  get  a  poorer  living  than  they  did  be- 
fore the  competition  of  the  twice  as  valuable  lands  of 
New  York  opened  close  upon  them?  Are  prices 
lower  in  New  York  since  the  vast  West  and  North- 
west became  populated  farming  lands  ? 

The  increase  of  the  non-producers  has  more  tha:i 
kept  pace  with  that  of  the  producers ;  and  nearness 
to  market,  the  consequent  ability  to  take  advantage 
of  its  fluctuations,  the  greater  certainty  of  finding 
ready  sales,- and  the  lesser  cost  and  risk  of  transpor- 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  163 

tation,  give  the  cultivator  of  our  "New  York  lands 
advantages  over  the  cultivator  of  remote  and  cheap 
ones,  which  tend  in  a  considerable  degree  to  equalize 
their  profits.  Were  this  otherwise,  what  help  is  there 
for  us?  Can  we  let  our  costly  lands  lie  idle  because 
there  are  cheaper  ones  in  the  West  and  South  ?  The 
only  question  with  us  is,  what  staples  we  can  grow 
most  profitably. 

Besides,  on  our  grain-growing  soils,  at  least,  sheep 
are  an  absolute  necessity  of  good  farming.  The 
growing  of  wheat,  clover-seed,  &c.,  cannot  be  carried 
on  economically  and  systematically  without  some  de- 
pasturing and  manure-producing  animal.  For  both 
of  these  purposes,  the  sheep  is  a  vastly  more  profita- 
ble animal  than  any  other.  Mr.  Johnson,  of  Geneva, 
and  Gen.  Harmon,  of  Wheatland,  two  as  good  wheat 
farmers  as  there  are  in  the  State,  have  thrown  a  flood 
of  light  on  this  subject  by  their  experiments  and 
their  writings.*  Leading  clover-seed  raisers  assure  me 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  received  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Johnson  on  the  subject.  He  says  that  "  sheep  and  wheat  farming 
ought  to  go  hand-in-hand  in  this  country,"  that  what  "he  has  made  in 
the  last  forty  years  has  been  in  a  large  proportion  by  sheep."  He  has 
"  fed  (fatted)  sheep  in  winter  for  over  thirty  years,  and  with  the  ex- 
ception of  1841-'42  they  have  always  paid  the  cost  of  feeding,  and 
some  years  left  a  handsome  profit."  That  is  to  say,  for  every  year  but 
one,  during  that  period,  he  has  converted  the  hay,  grain,  &c.,  of  his 
farm  into  manure  on  the  farm,  and  got  back  the  full  price  of  those 
products  and  cost  of  feeding ;  and  in  some  years  he  has  done  better 
than  this.  "  His  profits  have  been  better  since  1840,  when  he  com- 
menced wintering  on  straw  and  oil-cake  or  grain.  After  1846  he  kept 
no  regular  flock,  but  bought  them  in  the  fall  and  sold  them  usually  in 
March  or  April.  In  some  instances  he  held  them  until  after  shearing, 
but  found  that  he  seldom  did  as  well  as  by  selling  earlier." 

Gen.  Harmon,  and  I  think  a  majority  of  wheat  farmers  who  have 
sheep,  prefer  keeping  a  permanent  breeding  flock.  This  is  a  question 


164:  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

that  they  must  have  sheep  to  carry  on  that  culture 
profitably.  Sheep  would  be  more  profitable  than 
cows  on  a  multitude  of  the  high,  thin-soiled  dairy 
farms  of  our  State ;  and  every  person  who  has  kept 
the  two  animals  ought  to  know  that  sheep  will  enrich 
such  lands  far  more  rapidly  than  cows.*  On  the 
imperfectly  cleared  and  briery  lands  of  our  grazing 
regions,  sheep  will  more  than  pay  for  their  summer 
keep,  for  several  years,  merely  in  clearing  and  cleaning 
up  the  land.  They  effectually  exterminate  the  black- 
berry (Rubus  villosus  et  trivialis\  and  raspberry 
(Rubus  strigosus  et  occidentalis\  the  common  pests 
in  such  situations,  and  they  banish  or  prevent  the 
spread  of  many  other  troublesome  shrubs  and  weeds,  f 

of  convenience — depending  upon  incidental  considerations  which  this 
is  not  the  place  to  discuss. 

*  If  milch  cows  are  not  returned  to  their  pastures  at  night  in  sum- 
mer, or  the  manure  made  in  the  night  is  not  returned  to  the  pastures, 
the  difference  in  the  two  animals  in  the  particular  named  in  the  text 
is  still  greater.  Even  grazing  cattle  kept  constantly  in  the  pastures, 
and  whose  manure  is  much  better  than  that  of  dairy  cows,  are  still 
greatly  inferior  to  the  sheep  in  enriching  land.  The  manure  of  the 
sheep  is  stronger,  better  distributed,  and  distributed  in  a  way  that 
admits  of  little  loss.  The  small  round  pellets  soon  work  down  among 
the  roots  of  the  grass,  and  are  in  a  great  measure  protected  from  sun 
and  wind.  Each  pellet  has  a  coat  of  mucus  which  still  further  protects 
it.  On  taking  one  of  these  out  of  the  grass,  it  will  be  found  the 
moisture  is  gradually  dissolving  it  on  the  lower  side,  directly  among 
the  roots,  while  the  upper  coated  surface  remains  entire.  Finally,  if 
there  are  hill-tops,  dry  knolls,  or  elevations  of  any  kind  in  the  pasture, 
the  sheep  almost  invariably  lie  on  them  nights,  thus  depositing  an 
extra  portion  of  manure  on  the  least  fertile  part  of  the  land,  and 
where  the  wash  of  it  will  be  less  wasted.  The  manure  of  the  milch 
cow,  apart  from  its  intrinsic  inferiority,  is  deposited  in  masses  which 
give  up  their  best  contents  to  the  atmosphere  before  they  are  dry 
enough  to  bo  beaten  to  pieces  and  distributed  over  the  soil. 

f  Two  years  since  I  hired  forty  acres  of  pasture,  five  or  six  of  which 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY.  165 

TJ  ey  also,  unlike  any  other  of  our  valuable  domestic 
arimals,  exert  a  direct  and  observable  influence  in 
hanishing  coarse,  wild,  poor  grasses  from  their  pas- 
•  ares,  and  bringing  in  the  sweeter  and  more  nutritious 


Yet  dairying  is  wholly  driving  out  wool-growing  in 
the  grazing  portions  of  our  State,  and  grazing  cattle 
are  preferred  to  sheep  on  probably  a  majority  of  our 
grain  farms.  The  remarkable  decrease  of  the  latter 
in  proportion  to  our  population  is  made  apparent  by 
the  following  table,  compiled  from  the  United  States 
and  State  censuses.  Mr.  Kennedy,  Superintendent  of 
the  United  States  Census  office,  has  kindly  furnished 
me  with  statistics  of  the  census  of  1860,  in  advance  of 
their  official  publication  : 

were  partly  overrun  with  blackberry  "and  black  and  red  raspberry 
bushes.  I  stocked  the  land  heavily  with  sheep.  The  next  year 
almost  every  bush  was  dead,  most  of  them  apparently  untouched  by 
the  sheep,  certainly  bearing  no  marks  of  having  been  stripped  of  their 
bark.  I  had  not  dreamed  of  the  sheep  effecting  any  thing  like  such  a 
rapid  and  wholesale  extermination  ;  but  it  was  generally  attributed  to 
them,  and  no  other  cause  for  it  could  be  even  conjectured.  Many  of 
the  bushes  had  been  peeled  by  the  sheep,  and  the  extremities,  buds, 
flowers,  &c.,  nipped  off.  Sheep  will  frequently  attack  the  elder  (Sam- 
bucus  Canadensis  et  pubescens)  at  particular  periods  of  the  year.  In- 
deed, the  tender  leaves  and  buds  of  few  bushes  escape  them.  They 
attack  some  weeds,  but  banish  more  of  them  by  manuring  the  land 
and  increasing  the  growth  of  grass,  so  that  the  weeds  are  run  out. 
Where  the  Canada  thistle  (  Carduus  arvensis)  is  not  tall  and  rank,  sheep 
will  generally  keep  it  from  becoming  so,  where  the  land  is  not  very 
rich,  by  nipping  off  the  tops  and  the  flowers.  I  do  not  know  however 
that  it  meddles  at  all  with  the  common  thistle  (  C.  lanceolate}. 

*  They  effect  this  principally  through  their  superiority  as  manuring 
animals.  I  have  used  the  term  "  valuable"  domestic  animals,  for  I 
suppose  the  goat  would  probably  produce  the  same  effect  with  the 
sheep,  in  these  particulars. 


166  FINE   WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

Tear.  No.  of  Sheep.  Ibs.  of  wool.  Population. 

1840 5,118,777  9,845,295  2,428,9-21 

1845 4,505.369  13,864,828  2,604,495 

1850 3,453^241  10.071.301  3,097,394 

1855 2,630,203*  9,231^959  3,466,212 

1860 2,617,855  9,454,473  3,880,728 

The  State-  census  of  1845  gives  separate  returns  of 
slieep  over  and  under  one  year  old,  and  those  over  one 
year  old  are  alone  placed  in  above  table ;  for  if  lambs 
were  included  we  should  get  no  idea  of  the  average 
number  of  the  year  or  the  average  weight  of  fleeces. 
The  annual  number  of  lambs  does  not,  however,  equal 
the  number  killed,  driven  out  of  the  State,  or  which 
die  from  disease,  for  otherwise  the  aggregate  number 
of  our  sheep  would  not  be  steadily  decreasing.  The 
United  States  census  of  1850  and  1860  gives  only 
sheep  one  year  old  and  over ;  but  the  State  census  of 
1855  gives  the  entire  number  of  sheep  without  respect 
to  age,  and  the  number  Is  3,217,024.  f  If  this  number 
were  placed  in  the  table,  it  would  convey  a  wholly 
erroneous  impression  of  the  actual  number  left  in  the 
State  after  the  usual  annual  decrease  from  the  causes 
above  stated,  a  wholly  erroneous  impression  of  the 
average  weight  of  fleeces,  and  it  would  be  inconsistent 
with  the  rest  of  the  table.  :f  For  these  reasons  I  have~ 
given  the  number  of  fleeces  instead  of  sheep  returned 
in  1855.  This  should  approximately  give  the  number 
of  sheep  in  the  State  at  shearing-time  over  one  year 
old ;  and  as  it  would  mainly  exclude  both  the  annual 

*  Number  of  fleeces. 

f  I  state  tliis  fact  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Johnson,  the  Correspond- 
ing Secretary  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  who  has  examined 
the  State  census  for  me,  a  copy  of  it  not  being  in  my  possessiSn. 

\  Except,  perhaps,  United  States  census  returns  of  1840,  which  I 
think  were  taken  hi  the  same  way. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  16T 

increase  and  decrease,  it  would  unquestionably  ap- 
proach about  as  near  to  the  average  number  of  the 
year  (though  a  little  over  it)  as  is  arrived  at  by  any 
other  method.* 

Mr.  Kennedy  also  prepared  for  me  the  following 
table,  illustrative  of  the  increase  and  decrease  of  cer- 
tain leading  branches  of  husbandry  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  for  a  period  of  twenty  years : 

1830.  1840.  1850.  1860. 

Horses No  returns.  t474,543  447,014  303,725 

Milch  cows do.  )  931,324  1,123,634 

Working  oxen do.  V  1,911,244  178,909  121,702 

Other  cattle do.  \  767,406  727,837 

Sheep  do.  5,118,777  8,453,241  2,617,855 

Wool,  pounds  of do.  9,845,295  10,071,301  9.454,473 

Butter do.  )  No  returns  of  79,766,094  103,095,679 

Cheese do.  j  these  separate.  49,741,413  48,548,288 

Had  the  United  States  census  of  1830  contained 
returns  of  sheep  in  the  State,  I  have  no  doubt  that  a 
considerably  greater  decrease  would  have  been  indi- 
cated between  that  year  and  1840  than  between  1840 
and  1850. 

While  the  vastly  higher  priced  lands  of  England 
carry  nearly  two  sheep  for  every  inhabitant,  and  with- 
in a  fraction  of  590  sheep  for  every  square  mile  of 
territory,  it  appears  that  New  York  has  now  less  than 

*  After  the  amount  of  public  money  that  is  expended  on  the  Federal 
and  State  censuses,  it  is  vexatious  to  find  their  want  of  uniformity  and 
glaring  want  of  accuracy.  Discrepancies  are  visible  at  every  step. 
In  looking  at  the  returns  of  sheep  from  a  single  county,  in  the  State 
census  of  1855  (received  from  Mr.  Johnson) ;  I  find  that  in  some  towns 
the  whole  number  must  have  been  returned,  in  others,  the  sheep  which 
have  been,  sheared ;  and,  in  others  still,  the  number  of  fleeces  given 
considerably  exceeds  the  aggregate  number  of  sheep  of  all  ages  !  It 
is  certainly  very  unfortunate  if  the  proper  officials  cannot  hit  upon 
suitable  instructions  for  the  marshals,  express  them  in  terms  which 
men  of  common  intelligence  can  understand,  and  find  men  of  common 
intelligence  to  execute  them. 

\  This  includes  horses  and  mules. 


168  FINE    WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

one  sheep  to  every  inhabitant,  and  less  than  fifty-six 
sheep  for  every  square  mile ;  and  it  further  appears 
that  our  sheep  have  steadily  decreased  for  twenty 
years,  and  are  still  continuing  to  decrease. 

But  this  temporary  decay  of  a  great  branch  of  hus- 
bandry admits,  I  think,  of  reasonable  explanation. 
The  history  of  the  introduction  of  Saxon  sheep  has 
been  given,  their  spread  over  the  State,  and  almost 
total  absorption  of  the  Spanish  sheep  between  1824 
and  1835,  their  ceasing  to  be  remunerative  after  183T, 
and  their  banishment  from  our  farms  in  1846.  The 
great  flocks  of  this  State  kept  for  wool-growing  pur- 
poses anterior  to  1840,  were  mostly  of  this  blood ;  and 
when  they  were  abandoned  no  other  wool-growing 
sheep  proper  was  left  to  supply  their  places.  For%the 
few  improved  American  Merinos  left  in  the  country 
in  the  hands  of  breeders,  comparatively  large  prices 
were  asked.  It  was  not  strange  that  our  farmers, 
recollecting  the  overthrow  of  the  Spanish  Merinos  in 
1815,  smarting  under  their  recent  losses  with  the 
Saxon,  and  discouraged  by  legislation,  which  was 
prostrating  a  large  branch  of  the  woolen  manufactures 
of  our  country,  were  wholly  disinclined  to  venture  on 
any  new  and  costly  experiments  in  fine-wooled  sheep. 
In  fact,  that  prejudice  which  should  have  been  direct- 
ed against  visionary  investments,  injudicious  manage- 
ment, and  vacillating  legislation  in  respect  to  sheep, 
became  directed  against  these  valuable  animals  them- 
selves.* 

*  The  destruction  caused  among  sheep  by  dogs,  has  also  essentially 
contributed  to  the  prostration  of  sheep  husbandry.  It  not  only  has 
inflicted  serious,  and,  in  the  aggregate,  enormous  losses  on  our  people, 
but  it  has  of  late  years,  as  population  and  curs  have  increased,  driven 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY.  169 

Dairying  took  the  place  of  wool-growing.  It  proved 
a  steadily  and  highly  remunerative  department  of 
husbandry.  Fashion,  custom,  and  the  farm-training 
of  youth  tend  rapidly  to  absorb  the  rural  population 
in  a  prevailing  and  profitable  pursuit.  A  generation 
has  been  growing  up  familiar  with  and  attached  to 
dairying,  and  unacquainted  with  sheep  husbandry. 
And  it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  former,  in  proper 
situations,  cannot  be  surpassed  in  profit  by  any  other 
rural  pursuit.  Besides,  the  dairying  region  proper  of 
the  United  States  bears  no  proportion,  in  extent,  to 
the  wool-growing  region,  and  therefore  competition  is 
less  to  be  feared  at  home ;  and  as  it  cannot  come  from 
abroad,  this  interest  has  less  to  fear  from  legislation. 

The  course  of  events  for  the  last  few  years,  however, 
has  turned  more  attention  throughout  very  large  por- 
tions of  our  country  to  wool  culture.  It  is  time,  in 
my  judgment,  when  that  culture  should  revive  in  this 
State.  Our  people  must  now  be  consuming  annually 
something  like  20,000,000  Ibs.  of  wool  raised  outside  of 
our  own  borders.  There  is  little  doubt  that  instead  of 
thus  paying  out  a  large  sum  for  the  raw  material  of  a 
necessary  of  life,  which  we  have  abundant  room  and 
time  and  materials  to  cultivate  for  ourselves,  we  might 
grow  all  the  wool  we  need,  and  a  surplus  of  50,000,000 
Ibs.  annually,  without  diminishing  any  other  product 
which  is  even  approximately  as  remunerative. 

Dairying,  under  the  best  circumstances,  is  far  more 
profitable  than  sheep  husbandry  with  inferior  or  mid- 
dling animals ;  but  the  best  sheep  are  as  productive 

multitudes  of  persons  out  of  sheep  husbandry,  and  prevented  still 
more  from  embarking  in  it.    Proper  legislation  would  do  much  to  cor- 
rect this  evil. 
8 


170  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

as  the  best  cows,  and  require  far  less  labor.  No  dairy- 
farmer  who  has  suitable  land  and  fixtures  for  his  busi- 
ness, is  called  upon  to  give  up  the  avocation  he  best 
understands,  and  sacrifice  his  fixtures  and  cattle  to 
embark  in  a  new  pursuit,  because  he  has  found  a  sin- 
gle year  of  depressed  prices.  JST o  farmer  engaged  in 
any  highly  remunerative  husbandry  should  abandon 
it  for  another.  We  want  no  more  Merino  manias! 
The  proper  increase  in  wool  production  can  be  attain- 
ed by  putting  sheep  on  soils  too  poor  for  profitable 
dairying,  by  weeding  out  useless  and  unprofitable 
horses,  by  substituting  sheep  for  grazing  cattle  on 
grain  and  other  farms  where  they  are  most  profitable, 
by  depasturing  lands  now  uselessly  in  timber,  bram- 
bles, &c.,  and  by  raising  proper  crops  to  assist  in 
cheaply  wintering  sheep.* 

And  the  growth  of  wool  is  peculiarly  adapted  to 
the  pecuniary  means  and  the  circumstances  of  a  por- 
tion of  our  rural  population.  Their  capital  is  mostly 
in  land.  Hired  labor  is  costly.  Sheep  husbandry 
will  render  all  their  cleared  land  profitably  product- 
ive at  a  less  annual  expenditure  for  labor  than  any 
other  branch  of  farming.  By  reason  of  the  rapid  in- 
crease of  sheep,  and  the  great  facility  of  promptly 
improving  inferior  ones,  they  will  stock  a  farm  well 
more  expeditiously,  and  with  far  less  outlay  than 
other  animals.f  And,  lastly,  the  ordinary  processes 

*  Sheep  can  be  better  and  far  more  economically  wintered  on  hay, 
straw,  and  turnips,  or  beets,  than  on  clear  hay.  By  raising  these  roots, 
then,  the  farmer  can  save  considerable  meadow  land  and  increase  his 
pasture,  and  thus  the  farm  be  made  to  carry  more  sheep. 

f  Soon  after  shearing,  15  and  sometimes  20  ordinary  coarse  grade 
ewes  can  be  purchased  for  $30,  the  price  of  a  dairy  cow.  On  com- 
mon keep,  these  will  yield  an  average  of  three  and  a  half  pounds  of 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  171 

and  manipulations  of  sheep  husbandry  are  simple  and 
readily  acquired.  On  no  other  domestic  animal  is  the 
hazard  of  loss  by  death  so  small.  It  is  as  healthy  and 
hardy  as  other  animals,  and  unlike  all  the  others,  if 
decently  managed,  a  good  sheep  can  never  die  in  the 
debt  of  man.  If  it  dies  at  birth,  it  has  consumed 
nothing.  If  it  dies  the  first  winter,  its  wool  will  pay 
for  its  consumption  up  to  that  period.  If  it  lives  to 
be  sheared  once,  it  brings  its  owner  into  debt  to  it ; 
and  if  the  ordinary  and  natural  course  of  wool  pro- 
duction and  breeding  goes  on,  that  indebtedness  will  in- 
crease uniformly  and  with  accelerating  rapidity  until 
the  day  of  its  death.  If  the  horse  or  the  steer  die  at 
three  or  four  years  old,  or  the  cow  before  breeding,  the 
loss  is  almost  a  total  one. 

I  am  aware  that  it  is  easy  to  warm  one's  self  up  in 
praising  a  favorite  pursuit,  and  to  make  a  plausible 
show  of  reasons  for  what  will  not  stand  the  test  of 
experiment.  But  here  we  deal  with  fixed  data.  I 
refer  you  to  the  column  of  prices  for  which  wool  has 
sold  in  our  country.  If  the  cost  of  keeping  sheep 
through  the  same  periods  is  fairly  estimated,  it  will 
be  seen  that  with  prime  animals  no  other  branch  of 
agriculture  has  yielded  better  or  more  uniform  returns 
on  the  capital  invested. 

washed  wool  at  the  next  shearing,  and  so  small  a  number  of  this  class 
of  sheep  ought  to  raise  100  per  cent,  of  lambs.  If  a  choice  Merino 
ram  is  used,  the  lambs,  when  grown,  will  shear  at  least  a  pound  of 
wool  more  a  head  than  their  dams.  And  nearly  an  equal  improve- 
ment can  be  made  in  the  next  generation.  I  have,  more  than  once, 
witnessed  a  more  rapid  improvement  than  this.  Even  the  common 
fair  Merino  rams  of  the  country  often  increase  the  dam's  fleece  half  a 
pound  in  the  progeny  for  two  or  three  generations,  commencing  on  low 
grade  ewes. 


1Y2  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

The  examples  of  France,  Germany,  and  England 
all  show  that  vastly  higher  priced  lands  than  any  in 
New  York  must  carry  sheep  to  be  made  profitable  ; 
and  ki  the  two  first-named  countries  the  wool-pro- 
ducing sheep  is  preferred  to  the  mutton  sheep  —  though 
the  growers  are  exposed  to  the  competition  of  the  far 
cheaper  wool-producing  lands  of  Southern  Russia 
and  Hungary,  near  by,  and  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
South  America,  and  Australia,  farther  off. 


.  —  I  wish  to  express  my  own  thanks,  and  the 
thanks  of  the  Society  for  which  I  have  prepared  this 
paper,  to  the  various  breeders,  wool-growers,  manu- 
facturers, wool-merchants,  and  brokers,  officers  of  the 
Society,  and  other  persons  who  have  contributed 
statements  and  facts  for  it.  *  These  thanks  are,  in  a 
special  manner,  due  to  George  Liverinore,  Esq.,  of 
Boston,  for  his  indefatigable  labors  in  my  behalf. 


APPENDIX. 


A. 

Tariff  of  1861, 

Specific  duty    Ad  va- 

Specific  duty     per  square       lorem 

per  pound.  yard.  duty. 

Unmanufactured  wool,  costing 

less  than  18  cents  a  pound 

at  the   place  from   whence 

exported . .  5 

Same,  exceeding  18  cents,  and 

not   exceeding   24   cents    a 

pound          .         .         .         .3 
Same,  exceeding  24    cents  a 

pound          .         .         .        .9 
Sheep    skins    with   wool    on, 

washed  or  unwashed   .         ...  .  .  15 

Carpets,  Wilton,  Saxony,  Au- 

busson,    Axminster    patent 

velvet,   tournay  velvet   and 

tapestry     velvet,      Brussels 

wrought  by  the    Jacquard 

machine,     medallion     and 

whole   carpets   and  carpet- 
'    ings,  valued  at  $1.25,  or  un- 
der, per  square  yard    .         ...  40 
Same,  valued  over  $1.25          ...  50 
Brussels  and  tapestry  Brussels 

ditto,  printed  on  the  warp 

or  otherwise  30 


174:  FINE    WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

Specific  duty    Ad  va- 

Specific  duty      per  square      lorem 

per  pound.  yard.  duty. 

Treble  ingrain    and  worsted 

diain  Venetian  ditto  .         ...  25 

Druggets,  Lockings,  felt  car- 
peting, &c.,  printed,  colored 
or  otherwise  .  .  ...  20 

All  others  not  otherwise  speci- 
fied    30 

Mats,    mgs,    screens,    covers, 

hassocks,      bed-sides,      and 

other  portions    of    carpets, 

'  same  as  carpets   of  similar 

character 

All  other  mats,  screens,  has- 
socks, and  rugs  .  .  ...  .  .  30 

Woolen  cloths,  shawls,  and 
manufactures  of  every  de- 
scription, wholly  or  in  part 
wool,  not  otherwise  provided 
for  .  .  .  "  .  .12  . .  25 

Flannels  valued  at  30  cents  or 

less  per  square  yard     .         ...  .  .  25 

Same,  valued  above  30  cents 
ditto,  and  all  colored,  printed 
or  plaided,  or  composed  part 
of  cotton  or  silk .  .  30 

Hats  of  wool 20 

Worsted  yarn,  valued  at  50 
cents,  and  not  over  $1.00  per 
pound  .  .  .  .12  ...  15 

Woolen    and    worsted    yarn, 

valued  over  $1.00  per  pound     12  .  .  25 

Same,  valued  under  50  cents, 
not  exceeding  in  fineness 
'No.  14 25 

Same,  exceeding  in  fineness 
No.  14  ....  30 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY.  175 

Specific  duty    Ad  va- 

Speciflc  duty    per  square       lorem 

per  pound.  yard.  duty. 

Ready-made  clothing,  wholly 

or  part  wool  ...  12  .  .  25 

Blankets,  wholly  or  part  wool, 

value  not  exceeding  28  cents 

per  pound  ...  6  . '.  10 

Same,  valued  above  28  cents 

per  pound,  but  not  exceed- 
ing 40  cents  ...  6  .  .  25 
Same,  valued  above  40  cents 

per  pound  ...  12  .  .  20 

Shawls,  of  which  wool  is  the  % 

chief  component  .  .16  .  .  20 

Delaines,  cashmere,  muslin 

and  barege  delaines,  wholly 

or  part  wool,  gray  or  unco- 

lored,    and   other    gray   or 

uncolored  goods   of  similar 

description  .  .  25 

Bunting,  and  all  stained,  co- 
lored or  printed,  and  all 

other  manufactures  of  wool, 

or   of  which  it  shall   be  a 

component     material,     not 

otherwise  provided  for         .     .  .  .  .          30 

The  above  act  was  approved  March  2d,  1861.  An 
act  amending  it  passed  August  5,  1861,  but  none  of 
the  amendments  of  the  sections  in  regard  to  wool  or 
woolens  require  to  be  mentioned  here.  It  is  antici 
pated  that  another  tariff  law  will  be  enacted  during 
the  present  session. 


176  FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 

B 

Value  of  Ohio  Fleece  Wool  in  October  of  each  year, 
from  1840  to  1861. 

Fine.            Medium.  Coarse. 

1840  .....   45     36  31 

1841  ....  50     45  40 

1842  .    .    .    Price  all  round,  33£  a  35 

1843  ....  41     35  30 

1844  ....   42     37  32£ 

1845  .    .    .    .  36£    30  26 

1846  ....   34     30  26J 

1847  .  47i    40  30 

1848  ....   32     28  24 

1849  ....  41     37  32 

1850  ....   47     42  36 

1851  ....  41     38  32 

1852  ....   49     45  40 

1853  ....  55     50  43 

1854  ....   41     36  32J 

1855  ....  50     42  34 

1856  ....   55     47  37 
1857*    ....  56     47  41 

1858  ....   53     46  36 

1859  ....  58     47  35 

1860  ....   54     47  37 

1861  ....  45     45  50 

Prepared  by  Geo.  Wm.  Bond  <&  Co.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Prices  current  of  New  York  State  Fleece  Wools,  from 
May  1st,  1855,  to  January  1st,  1862  : 

Choice  Saxony 

Tear.         Month.                                                        and  Saxony.  Full  blood. 

1855.     May    ....        45048  37^40 

June        .        .        .        .   45  48  37  40 

July    .        .        .         .       45  48  37  40 

*  We  give  the  price  in  August,  there  having  been  no  sales  in  October. 


FINE   WOOL   SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 


177 


Tear. 


Month. 


1855  August  . 
September 
October  . 
November 
December 

1856.  January 
February  . 
March 
April 

Average 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

1857.  January 
February 
March     . 
April 

Average 

May 

June    . 

July        . 

August 

September 

October 

November 

December 

1858.  January  . 


Choice  Saxony 
and  Saxony. 

.  45048 

45  48 

.46  49 

,   46  49 

.  44  48 

.   44  48 

.  44  48 

47  50 

.  50  53 

46^50 


53056 

56058 
56  58 
50  53 
53  56 
53  56 


38  41 
38  41 


Full  Wood. 

37040 
37  40 

40  42 
40  42 

38 
38 

38 


40 
40 
40 


40  42 
43  45 

39041 


50053 

43045 

50  53 

43  45 

50  53 

43  45 

50  53 

43  45 

50  53 

43  45 

50  53 

43  45 

53  56 

47  50 

53  56 

47  50 

53  56 

47  50 

58  60 

52  55 

58  60 

52  55 

58  6f 

52  55 

46049 


49052 
49  52 
45  47 
47  49 
47  49 


31  33 
31  33 


178 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 


Tear. 


Month. 


1858.     February    . 
March 
April 

Average 


May     . 

June 

July    . 

August   . 

September 

October 

November 

December 

January 

February 

March. 

April 


1859. 


1860. 


Average 

May    . 

June 

July     . 

August     . 

September 

October   . 

November 

December 

January 

February 

March 

April 


Choice  Saxony 
and  Saxony. 

Full  blood. 

38041 

31033 

38  41 

31  33 

39  43 

32  35 

38041 

33035 

39043 

32035 

.  40  43 

33  36 

40  43 

33  36 

.  42  45 

37  39 

43  46 

38  40 

.  43  46 

38  40 

46  48 

41  43 

.  49  52 

44  46 

50  58 

45  47 

.  50  58 

45  47 

50  58 

45  47 

.  51  54 

45  47 

45050 

40042 

51a54 

45047 

.  51  54 

45  47 

49  52 

44  46 

.  49  52 

44  46 

49  52 

44  46 

,  50  54 

45  47 

50  54 

45  47 

.  50  54 

45  47 

50  54 

45  47 

.  50  54 

45  47 

50  54 

45  47 

.  50  54 

45  47 

Average 


50054 


45047 


FINE    WOOI,   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 


179 


Tear.         Month. 

May 
June 
July 

August    . 
September     , 
October     . 
November    . 
December 

1861.  January 
February 
March 
April     . 

Average 

May 
June     . 
July        . 
August 
September 
October 
November 
December    . 

1862.  January 

Average 


Choice  Saxony 
and  Saxony. 


49052 

49  52 

49 

49 

50 

50 


52 
52 
53 
53 
50  53 
50  53 
46  48 
46  48 
46  48 
46  48 

48051 

46048 

46  48 
34  38 
34  38 
34  38 
40  45 

47  52 
47  52 
47  52 

42046 


Full  blood. 

44046 
44  46 
44  46 

44  46 

45  47 
45  47 
45  47 
45  47 
40  42 
40  42 
40  42 
40  42 

43^45 

40^42 
40  42 
34  38 
34  38 
34  38 
40  45 


47 
47 
47 


52 
52 

52 


40044 


Prepared  ~by  Telkampf    <&  Kitching,   New    York, 
Jan.  14,  1862. 

Mr.  James  Boy,  of  the  Watervliet  Mills,  West  Troy, 
N.  Y.,  furnishes  the  following  list  of  average  annual 
prices  paid  by  that  establishment  for  wool  since  1852. 
The  purchases  include  six  or  seven  hundred  thousand 
pounds  per  annum,  and  are  made  in  New  York.  Ohio, 
Michigan,  and  Vermont. 


180 


FINE   WOOL   SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 


1852 

1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 


37-J  cents. 
48i  do. 
36j  do. 
36  \-  -do. 
do. 


1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 
1861 


41f  cents. 
34J     do. 

do. 

do. 

do. 


45 


Mr.  Faxton,  of  Utica,  !N".  Y.,  sends  me  the  following  : 
Mr.  FAXTON: 

Below  is  actual  sales  made  by  me  in  September  of 
each  year,  and  though  in  many  years  great  changes 
have  followed,  it  is  perhaps  as  fair  a  show  of  prices  as 
can  be  given : 

Coarsest.     Finest.  Coarsest.     Finest 

1848  .  22    35    1855     .  32    46 

1849  .   25    40    1856    .   35    48 

1850  .   .  35    52    1857  .   .  36    55 

1851  .   32    42    1858    .   30    45 

1852  .  36    53    1859     .  40    50 

1853  .   42    58    1860       40    55 

1854  .  30    40    1861  .   .  37i   40 

Yours  truly, 

JAS.  ROOKMEE,  Utica. 
January  15,  1862. 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 


181 


c. 

The  following  is  taken  from  a  report  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury,  in  1845  : 

Value  of  Imports  of  Woollens  into  the  United  States : 

Year.  Value.  Year.  Yalue. 

1821  .    .   $7,437,737  1831  .    .  $12,627,229 

1822  '  .     12,185,904  1832   .    .  9,992,424 

1823  .    .   8,268,038  1833  .    .   13,262,509 

1824  ..    .  8,386,597  1834   .    .  11,879,328 

1825  .    .'  11,392,264  1835  .    .   17,834,424 

1826  .    .  8,434,974  1836   .    .  21,080,003 

1827  .    ;   8,742,701  1837  .    .    8,500,292 

1828  .    .  8,679,505  1838   .    .  16,512,920 

1829  .    .   6,881,489  1839  .    .   18,575,945 

1830  .    .  5,766,396 

It  was  my  intention  to  ascertain  what  proportion  of 
the  imports  of  unmanufactured  wool  fell  below  the 
dutiable  price,  but  the  scanty  time  afforded  me  has 
not  permitted  it.  As  a  specimen,  however,  I  append 
the  following  table,  compiled  from  reports  of  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury : 

Imports  of  Wool. 


Av.  imp'ts 
of    1837, 
'38,  '39. 

Av.  imp'ts 
of  1840, 
'41,  '42 

Imports 

of  1843.* 

Imports 
of  1844. 

Imports 
of  1845. 

Imports 
of  1846. 

Wool  not  costing 
to     exceed    7 
cents  a  pound 
Exceeding  7 
cents  a  pound... 

$558,458 
801,087 

$759,646 
1,004,312 

$190,352 
54,695 

$754,441 
97,019 

$1,553,789 
136,005 

$1,107,305 
26,921 

Total  

$1,359,545 

$1,763,958 

$245,047 

$851,460 

$1,689,794 

$1,134,226 

*  The  fiscal  year  1842  ended  on  30th  September.  Since  then  returns  of  imports 
and  exports  have  been  made  up  to  80th  June.  This  year,  therefore,  embraces 
imports  of  nine  months  only,  ending  June  30, 1843,  and  subsequent  years  end  30th 
of  June,  1844, 1845,  and  so  on. 


182  FINE    WOOL    §HEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

D. 

THE  WOOL  PKESS. 

This  article  has  been  so  much  improved  recently, 
and  that  improvement  is  so  little  known,  that  I  am 
induced  to  call  attention  to  it.  Most  wool-growers 
are  acquainted  with  the  excellent  press  previously  in 
use,  consisting  of  a  trough  about  four  feet  long  and 
ten  or  twelve  inches  in  height  and  breadth,  set  on 
legs,  with  a  stationary  cross-piece  at  one  end,  and  a 
movable  one  drawn  towards  it  by  a  strap  and  lever, 
with  slits  for  twine,  &c.  -This  does  up  wool  more 
rapidly  and  vastly  better  than  any  person  can  do  it 
by  hand.  But  in  the  case  of  large  fleeces  it  requires 
too  much  weight  applied  to  the  lever  for  the  operator 
conveniently  to  press  it  down  and  hold  it  down  with 
one  foot,  while  standing  with  the  other  in  a  conve- 
nient place  for  tying  up  the  fleece.  Several  contri- 
vances were  applied  to  remedy  this  difficulty,  but 
finally  the  true  one  was  hit  upon  by  Mr.  James  Ged- 
des,  of  Fairmount,  1ST.  Y.  By  substituting  a  crank, 
ratchet-wheel,  pair  of  rollers,  and  the  necessary  straps 
in  the  place  of  the  lever  arrangement,  even  a  small 
boy  is  strong  enough  to  compress  the  fleece,  and  the 
ratchet-wheel  and  dog  will  cause  it  to  be  held  com- 
pressed as  long  as  is  wanted  by  the  tier ;  the  crank, 
being  then  reversed,  carries  back  the  sliding  cross- 
piece  to  the  opposite  end  of  the  trough  again.  It  is 
now  apparently  a  perfect  machine.  ISTo  patent  has 
been  taken  out  for  it.  The  machines  are  excellently 
manufactured  by  Storrs  Wilber,  of  Fairmount,  ~N.  Y., 
and  cost  from  $6 -to  $7.  If  Mr.  Wilber  should  leave, 


FINE    WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY.  183 

\ 

Mr.  Geddes  will  doubtless  see  that  another  manufac- 
turer takes  his  place,  so  that  it  would  be  as  well  to 
address  to  care  of  James  Geddes. 

E. 

Proportion  of  Wool  to  Meat  in  Sheep  of  Different  Ages, 

Sexes,  and  Sizes, 

The  President  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  the 
Hon.  Mr.  Geddes,  kindly  drew  out  the  following  in- 
formation for  me,  on  the  above  heads  : 

POMPEY,  ONON.  Co.,  N.  Y.,  January  2t,  1862. 

Hon.  GEORGE  GEDDES  : 

DEAR  SIR  : — Yours  of  the  15th  inst.  was  duly  receiv- 
ed, and  it  is  with  some  considerable  pleasure  that  we 
can  reply  so  satisfactorily. 

Our  nock  consists  of  180,  of  several  grades,  one-half 
to  three-fourths  Spanish  Merino,  and  a  portion  of  the 
largest  one-fourth  French  Merino.  The  base  of  the 
flock,  but  a  few  years  since,  was  Saxony. 

We  sheared  on  the  26th  and  27th  of  June  last,  and 
took  the  trouble  to  weigh  every  sheep  and  every  fleece, 
and  to  record  it  on  the  spot.  They  were  sheared 
promiscuously,  and  we  have  taken  the  trouble  to  clas- 
sify them  for  our  own  convenience,  both  by  age  and 
weight.  The  heaviest  sheep  weighed  133,  the  lightest 
43.  The  heaviest  fleece  weighed  9-J,  the  lightest  3J, 
"We  sold  our  clip  for  40c. ;  it  would  have  brought,  in  six 
days  after,  47  or  48.  We  sold  24  of  the  heaviest 
wethers,  October  1st,  for  $95 ;  and  24  of  the  oldest 
ewes,  November  1st,  for  $60. 

We  had  about  50  lambs  dropped;  we  raised  35. 
Some  of  the  remainder  died,  but  the  most  of  them  we 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP    HUSBANDRY. 

killed.  They  had  fleshy  tumor/,  uii  their  necks,  and 
we  were  told  by  many  that  it  was  owing  to 'high  keep- 
ing ;  we  did  not  believe  it  then,  and  have  since  proved 
that -it  was  transmitted  by  the  sire.  To  construct  the 
next  to  the  last  column  (in  subjoined  table)  we  divided 
the  carcass  by  the  fleece ;  and  to  construct  the  last  col- 
umn, we  added  ciphers  to  the  amount  of  wool  and 
divided  it  by  the  gross  weight.  We  conceived  that  to 
be  the  proper  method.  If  it  is  not,  it  can  readily  be 
reconstructed,  as  we  are  confident  that  the  weights  in 
all  other  respects  are  absolutely  accurate.  You  will 
not  fail  to  notice  that  the  26  wethers  in  the  first  class, 
four  years  old,  gave  a  greater  per  cent.,  than  those 
three  years  old,  and  those  of  from  110  to  121  pounds 
in  weight  more  than  those  above  or  below  that  weight. 
Those  two  exceptions  comprise  the  same  sheep.  Were 
these  two  excluded,  the  column  of  percentage  would 
gradually  decrease  from  yearlings  to  four-years  old, 
and  from  43  to  133.  Were  these  four-years  old  not 
subdivided,  the  percentage  would  be  5.58,  and  we  do 
not  know  but  that,  if  the  classes  above  were  subdivi- 
ded in  the  same  way,  it  would  be  with  similar  results. 
If  you  can  think  of  any  way  in  which  our  data  can  be 
any  more  thoroughly  elaborated,  please  inform  us,  and 
we  will  do  it  with  the  greatest  pleasure. 
Respectfully  yours, 

SWEET  BROTHERS. 

Note  to  the  Messrs.  Sweet's  statement:  The  American  Merino  ram,  whose 
measurements  are  given  in  Petri's  table,  weighed,  in  fair  ordinary  condi- 
tion, and  with  between  nine  and  ten  months  fleece  on,  122  Ibs.  He  has 
yielded  an  unwashed  fleece,  of  one  year's  growth,  of  20  Ibs.  12  oz.  His 
wool  is  not  unusually  yolky,  and  he  has  very  little  external  gum.  Here, 
then,  we  have,  on  a  moderate  estimate,  a  pound  unwashed  wool  for  less 
than  five  and  one-half  pounds  of  carcass. 


FINE   WOOL    SHEEP   HUSBANDRY. 


185 


Classified  ly  age  ;  except  those  four  years  old,  which  are  sub- 
divided ~by  sex.  The  four-year  old  ewes  all  had  lambs,  and 
35  reared  them. 


? 

"o 

Sexes. 

„ 

£ 

e 

o 

1.' 

I 

i:° 

11 

1 

Age. 

I 

| 

| 

60 

i 

Is- 

* 

6D 

«i 

&c  » 

C     03     Q 

cent,  of 
gross  w 

& 

W 

£ 

pq 

2 

C!J 

gl 

^ 

•5 

*  o 

s" 

£5 

QO 

80 
51 

1  ' 
2 
3 

19 
15 
9 

11 

14 
42 

2 
1 

2,160.25 
2,508.87 
5.013.25 

1,991 
2,847 
4,700 

169.25 
161.37 
813.25 

62.21 
78.23 
92.15 

5.28 
5.37 
6.14 

11.11 

13.98 
14.10 

7.83 
6.43 
6.«4 

41 

4 
4 

.4l' 

2i> 

i 

2,921.13 

3,738.00 

,736 
,557 

185.13 
181.00 

105.11 
86.75 

7.12 
4.41 

14.76 
19.65 

6.38 

484 

180 

1  to  4 

84 

92 

4 

16,341.00 

15,381 

1.010.00 

85.17 

5.3S 

15.lt 

6.18 

. 

Classified  ~by  weight ;  in  divisions  of  ten  pounds  each. 


1 

o 

i 

Sexee 

. 

.*j 

i 

•3 
o 
te 

f  . 

2 
JP 

^ 
o  <o 

If 

^'3 

Number  in 

Weight  of 
Division, 
from 

03 

1 

w 

Wethers. 

Bucks. 

C>0 

•s 

pt 
3 

g 
3 

"3 

"3  o 

£ 

"Weight  of  i 

Average  w< 
of  carcass 

£  «j 

|l 

k^S 
<1 

Pounds  of 
cass  to  0] 
wool. 

Per  cent,  of 
to  gross  w 

5 

43  to    51 

5 

256 

234 

22 

4680 

440 

10  63 

859 

14 
20 
84 
39 
34 
18 
11 
5 

50  to    61 
60  to    71 
70  to    81 
80  to    91 
90  to  101 
100  to  111 
110  to  121 
120  to  134 

10 
14 
21 
19 
11 
4 

4 
6 
12 
20 
22 
13 
10 
5 

"i" 

"T 

i 
i 

871 
1,427 
2,742 
8,566 
3,453 
2,016 
1,353 
657 

803 
1,320 
2,567 
3,355 
3,252 
1,905 
1,273 
622 

68 
107 
175 
211 
201 
111 
80 
35 

57.35 
66.00 
75.50 
86.00 
95.64 
105.83 
115.72 
12440 

4.85 
5.35 
5.14 
5.41 
5.91 
6.16 
7.27 
7.00 

11.80 
12.33 
1466 
15.87 
15.42 
17.16 
15.91 
17.76 

7.80 
7.49 
6.38 
5.90 
5.82. 
5.50 
5.89 
5.32 

180 

43  to  134 

84 

92 

4 

16,841 

15,331 

1,010 

85.17 

5.38 

15.17 

6.18 

INDEX. 

PAGE 

ADAMS,  SETH,  his  importation  of  Merinos 31 

BREEDING-  in-and-in 115-120 

principles  of 141-144 

selection  of  rams  for  144-147 

present  course  of  in  U.  S 147 

causes  of  deterioration  in ; 148-152 

CHAMBERLAIN,     WILLIAM,    his    importation    of    Silesian 

Merinos 88 

Collins,  D.  C.,  his  importation  of  French  Merinos 21 

character  of  his  sheep 83 

Crossing,  between  Merinos  and  other  breeds 106 

between  varieties  of  the  Merino 100,  108-112,  121 

DUPONT  DE  NEMQURS,  his  importation  of  Merinos 30 

FOSTER,  WILLIAM,  his  importation  of  Spanish  Merinos 30 

GROYE,  HENRY  D.,  his  importation  of  Saxon  Merinos 51 

weight  of  his  fleeces 69 

HOUSING  sheep  in  summer 136-138 

Humphreys,  David,  his  importation  of  Spanish  Merinos 33,  34 

character  of  his  sheep 35,  36 

JARYIS,  WILLIAM,  his  importation  of  Spanish  Merinos 39 

his  course  of  breeding 41,  42,  108 

LIYERMORE,  GEORGE,  his  statements 30 

his  table  of  wool  prices 62-65 

Livingston,  R.  R.,  his  importation  of  Merinos 31-33 

weight  of  his  fleeces 19 

his  course  of  breeding 78 

MERINO,  AMERICAN,  introduction  into  U.  S 30,  43 

how  received  in  U.  S 45 

fall  in  prices  of 48 

supplanted  by  Saxon  Merinos 56 

it  again  supersedes  the  Saxon 69 

weights  of  fleeces  of  at  different  periods 70,  71 


INDEX.  1ST 

earn 

MERINO,  AMERICAN,  families  of  in  U.  S 72-79 

improvement  in  weight  of  fleece  of 81,  82 

compared  with  Saxon  Merino 92 

compared  with  French  Merino 93-100 

crosses  of  with  French  Merinos 101 

compared  with  Silesian  Merino 104 

crossed  with  other  breeds 105 

crossing  between  families  of 108-112,  121 

breeding  in-and-in  of 115-120 

carcass,  skin,  and  folds  of 122 

fleece,  fineness  and  evenness  of 126 

trueness,  softness,  and  style  of  wool  of 126 

quality  of  mutton  of 155-159 

used  to  breed  early  lambs  from 157 

improvement  of  for  mutton  purposes 158-161 

proper  age  of  to  turn  off 161 

Longevity  of 161 

Merino,  French,  introduction  into  France 15 

how  selected  and  bred  there 16,  108 

rapid  improvement  of  in  weight  of  fleece 16,  18 

characteristics  of  in  1827 20 

characteristics  of  at  present 21-23,  84,  108 

imported  into  U.  S 21-23,  83 

character  and  treatment  of  in  U.  S 84-87 

compared  with  American  Merino 93-101 

crosses  with  American  Merino 101 

where  most  valuable 104 

Merino,  Saxon,  introduction  into  Saxony 24 

course  of  breeding  and  treatment  of  there 24 

characteristics  of  in  1824 25,  26 

subsequent  improvement  of 27 

prices  of  wool  of  in  Germany 29 

introduction  of  into  U.  S 50-55 

mania  in  regard  to  in  U.  S. 56 

superseded  by  American  Merino  hi  U.  S .  69 

compared  with  American  Merino 92 

crosses  of  with  American  Merino 121 

Merino,  Silesian,  introduction  into  Silesia 29 

introduction  and  character  of  in  U.  S 88-91 

compared  with  American  Merino 104 

Merino,  Spanish,  its  origin 4 


188  INDEX. 

PAGH 

Merino,  Spanish,  varieties  of 6 

annual  migrations  of 6 

territorial  classifications  of 7 

families  of,  described 7 

appearance  of  as  a  race  in  1 800 8 

Petri's  weights  and  measurements  of 10 

form,  fleece,  etc.,  of 12,  13 

mode  of  washing  of  in  Spain 14 

'quality  of  wool  of 15 

present  deterioration  of  in  Spain 22,  23 

importation  of  into  U.  S 30-43 

Mutton,  production  of  with  fine  wool 152,  153 

more  cheaply  produced  than  other  meat. 154 

wastes  less  in  cooking  than  other  meat 154 

increase  in  price  and  consumption  of 154,  155 

American  taste  in  respect  to 156,  157 

NEW  YORK,  encouragement  of  to  wool  manufactures 45,  47 

manufactures  of  wool  in,  1 810  ^ 47 

it's  manufactures  prostrated  by  peace  of  1815 48 

NEW  YORK,  number  of  sheep  to  the  square  mile  in 153,  154 

increased  price  and  consumption  of  mutton  in 153,  154 

comparative  decrease  of  sheep  husbandry  in 167,  168 

what  portions  of  are  adapted  to  sheep 170 

SHEEP,  pampering  of  for  sale,  a  fraud 138,  140 

necessity  of  in  English  agriculture 153 

necessity  of  in  U.  S 163 

when  more  profitable  than  dairy  cows 164 

comparative  value  of  hi  improving  land 164 

number  of,  decreasing  in  New  York 166 

situations  where  they  should  increase 170 

they  never  die  in  debt  to  man 171 

TAINTOR,  JOHN  A.,  his  importation  of  French  Merinos 21,  83 

Tariff  laws  of  U.  S.  on  wool  and  woollens  from  1789  to  1824 49 

from  1824  to  1861  54-61,  173 

WOOL,  prices  of  in  U.  S.  for  60  years 62-65 

exports  and  imports  of 66,  181 

machinery  Jor  manufacture  of  in  U.  S 67 

decline  hi  production  of  fine,  in  U.  S 69 

chemical  analysis  of 95 

characteristics  of,  described 125,  126 

effects  of  yoke  on 127 


INDEX.  189 

PAGB 

WOOL,  profits  of  production  of 160 

advantages  of  its  culture 163-172 

prices  of  Ohio  fleece 116 

prices  current  of  in  New  York 176 

prices  of,  paid  at  Watervliet  Mills,  N.  Y 180 

prices  of,  paid  in  Utica,  N.  Y 180 

press  for  doing  up  of 182 

proportion  of  to  meat  in  sheep  of  different  ages,  sexes,  and 
sizes '183 

FOLK,  different  kinds  of  in  wool 127 

chemical  analysis  of 12t 

more  of  in  some  regions  than  in  others 129 

uses  of  in  wool 130,  131 

how  far  it  should  be  propagated 131 

consequences  of  an  excess  of 132,  133 

effect  of  on  wool  after  shearing 133 

cost  of  cleansing  it  out  of  wool 134 

how  far  its  color  is  important 134 


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